




























































































t 













CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
After St. Gaudens’s Statue 









THE CATHEDRAL HISTORY 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES 


A REVISION OF 

• ■ H 

A History of the United States 
for Catholic Schools 


PREPARED AND ARRANGED BY 

ct 4 - hg. 'iVvny-A orde^ o T - ' ■ r C7 z 

THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS /OF THE PERPETUAL ADORATION 

V " 

ST. ROSE CONVENT, LA CR08SE, WIS. 





SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 

CHICAGO ATLANTA NEW YORK 


.1 

• Ss^ 

1^23 


iFJiim SDfewat 

ALGY5IUS H. ROHDE, S.J., 

Censor Librorum 

Imprimatur 

►J*ALEXANDER J. McGAVICK, D.D., 

Bishop of La Crosse 


March 10, 1923 


Copyright 1923 

BY 

SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 





MAR 24 IS23 


© Cl A 6 9 $ 010 

O-U 5 , /. 


INTRODUCTION 


The Cathedral History of the United States is a revision of 
A History of the United States for Catholic Schools. This revised 
edition represents a complete rewriting of the original text. The 
main features of the revision are as follows: 

(1) Inclusiveness. The facts of the history of our country, 
as well as the interpretation of the facts, have been brought 
up to date. A final chapter gives a panorama of the growth 
and development of our country during the past century. 

(2) Condensation. Much material of minor importance has 
been omitted, and new material has been added to make im¬ 
portant matters more vivid to the pupil’s mind. The omissions 
have in no way destroyed the unity of the book, but rather 
have served to knit the various parts more closely together. 

(3) Simplification. The text has been simplified to such an 
extent that the average pupil will have no difficulty in under¬ 
standing what he reads. Simple explanations have been made 
of all difficult but unavoidable terms. 

(4) Aids to Study. Questions and Theme Topics will be 
found at the end of each chapter. They have been carefully 
prepared to test the pupil’s understanding of what he has 
studied. They are not intended to supplant the teacher’s own 
methods of testing comprehension, but merely to supplement 
them. The teacher may suggest additional topics for themes 
when suitable material for those listed cannot easily be obtained. 

(5) Reading Lists. A Reading List for Pupils will be found 
on pages 485 and following. These books have been selected as 
amply supplementing the present text and as fitting in with 
its conception of American history. The list is not a long 

5 


6 


INTRODUCTION 


one; the authors believe that intensive reading in a small list 
of books is preferable to indiscriminate reading in a wide one. 
Ample material for the Theme Topics will be found in the 
pages of the references. A Reading List for the Teacher will 
be found on pages 490 and following. 

(6) Illustrations. Many new drawings and pictures have 
been added to the book, thus presenting to the eye attractive 
pages that will naturally impel an interest in the text itself. 
A large proportion of these new pictures are line-drawings made 
expressly for this new edition. The illustrations have not been 
chosen at random, but selected rather for their value in making 
clear to the reader’s mind the matter of the text itself. From 
the picture of an Indian wigwam to that of the New York 
waterfront the illustrations show progressively the development 
of our country. 

There are many histories of the United States, each bearing its . 
message of patriotism. The purpose of the revised edition, as 
was that of its predecessor, is to offer a text which sets forth not 
only all the usually taught historical facts, but also the too 
often forgotten efforts of the Church in American History. 
The venturesome explorer, the intrepid colonizer, the hardy 
pioneer, the noble warrior, the eloquent statesman, are all given 
their due praise; but the quiet heroism of the loyal sons and 
daughters of the Catholic Church is also lifted from obscurity 
into the light of reverent knowledge. 

Our country is justly proud of the liberty she offers to all 
her children. But these children are many in faith, and diversi¬ 
fied in race peculiarities. Common interests may seem to 
unite them from time to time, but there can be no true, per¬ 
manent union except where the spirit and the faith are domi¬ 
nating forces. But where is found such a bond of unity except 
in the Catholic Church? Mother Church folds her arms about 
all her children and questions not their color or their race. 

The mind may travel with lightning speed from the At¬ 
lantic to the Pacific, from the frozen plains of the north to 


INTRODUCTION 


7 


the sunny plantations of the south; it may grasp with keen 
perception all that this great country symbolizes and dis¬ 
plays; the heart may glow with righteous pride for our na¬ 
tional achievements. But in addition to all these, the great 
share that Catholics have had in the discovery and explora¬ 
tion of America should thrill with reverent joy the heart of 
every Catholic student, and cause him to love more sincerely 
and serve more loyally the chosen country of God. For this is 
the land whose borders Ericson and Columbus first touched; 
whose Great Lakes were discovered and made known by Cham¬ 
plain; whose broad Mississippi Valley and fertile western plains 
were first traversed by intrepid and self-sacrificing men, such 
as Father Hennepin, Du Lhut, Joliet, Father Marquette, and 
La Salle—Catholics, every one of them. Furthermore, it is 
the land whose virgin soil was hallowed by the blood of the 
Catholic missionaries; in whose council halls rang the voices 
of eloquent Catholic statesmen; and on whose battlefields fear¬ 
less Catholic soldiers bled, and quiet Sisters of Charity served. 

We may not build a shrine at every spot consecrated by 
the glorious deeds of our unlaureled Catholic heroes and hero¬ 
ines who have helped to make our history, but we may set up 
these shrines in the hearts of the young. Here we may hope 
to build a temple in the inner sanctuary, in which the Blessed 
Mother, the Patroness of the Republic of Washington and 
Lincoln, may be honored with devotion undying. To Mary 
Immaculate this modest work is humbly dedicated. 

In the preparation of this book, the authors have had assist¬ 
ance from so many persons that it would be quite impracticable 
in this restricted space to mention them all. Special thanks 
are due to the Jesuit Fathers of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, 
and St. Louis, Missouri; as also to other scholarly members 
of the Catholic clergy who have read and re-read the manu¬ 
script and offered numerous valuable suggestions. Miss Mary 
E. Tobin, Principal of the Cregier School, Chicago, Illinois, 
among others, has read critically the proofs and has rendered 


8 


INTRODUCTION 


important service in preparing this work for publication. Miss 
Marguerite L. O’Brien, of Chicago, has given constructive and 
important help toward the preparation of the text of the Cath¬ 
edral History. 

For permission to use copyrighted photographs our thanks 
are tendered to Underwood & Underwood for the pictures on 
pages 417, 418, 419, 423, 425, 430, 432, 433, 435, 444, and 452. 


TO THE TEACHER 


Each chapter in this book contains a unit of closely asso¬ 
ciated facts. The teacher may well read and discuss each en¬ 
tire unit with his class before assigning any part of it for study, 
even though this reading may take more than one recitation 
period. 

Only those dates should be memorized which serve to asso¬ 
ciate important facts more closely. Dates, however, are to the 
student what milestones are to the traveler, and they should 
not be neglected. In the “Chronological Review” at the end 
of each period, important dates are listed. 

Use maps daily when discussing voyages, explorations, set¬ 
tlements, etc. Trace routes and locate settlements on the 
map. It may serve well to quote Carlyle here, who says that 
chronology and geography are “the two great lamps of his¬ 
tory.” 

In the teaching of the different periods, or epochs, into 
which the history is divided, the following points should be 
made clear to pupils: 

1. Be sure that the pupils appreciate the proper setting of 
United States history, before they begin to study it in detail. 
They should know the threefold chronological divisions of world 
history—Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. They should also 
understand the difference between Sacred history and Profane, 
or Secular history; 

2. Acquaint the pupil thoroughly with the important events 
of the period of Colonization, since our later history and the 
Constitution can be underst ood only in the light of our pio¬ 
neer history. Note: 


9 


10 


TO THE TEACHER 


(a) how Christianity, though represented by conflicting 
creeds, existed in each colony, and how the Catholic Church, 
like the mustard seed of the Gospel, has flourished and grown, 
as it were, into a mighty tree; 

( b ) how the emigration from many different nations has 
given us that remarkable sobriety, energy, and progressiveness 
for which our country is characterized. Call attention to the 
fact that the original traits can still be distinguished in the 
manners and customs of the direct descendants of the pioneer 
colonizers, who inhabit certain localities, (Pennsylvania, Mary¬ 
land, New York, Massachusetts); 

(c) how the early assemblies and other institutions of self- 
government in the colonies eventually developed into our 
present republican government vested in three departments; 

(i d ) that the origin of our present Constitution may be traced 
back to the principles which were set out in the Mayflower 
compact of the Pilgrims, the charter of Lord Baltimore, Penn’s 
Great Law, and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut; 

( e ) how our present public school system had its origin in 
the educational zeal of the northern colony builders, and how 
our cherished parochial schools grew from humble beginnings 
into the splendid system which now labors so zealously for 
the spiritual and intellectual welfare of our country. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introduction. 5 

To the Teacher. 9 

PERIOD OF EARLIEST INHABITANTS 

CHAPTER 

I. The Indians. 17 

PERIOD OF DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS 

II. Trade in the Old World: Discovery of the New World 22 


III. The Spanish in America. 33 

IV. The English in America. 40 

V. The French in America. 46 

VI. The Dutch in America. 56 

Chronological Review (1000-1492). 59 

PERIOD OF COLONIZATION 

VII. The Southern Group of Colonies. 62 

VIII. The Middle Group of Colonies. 79 

IX. The New England Group of Colonies. 89 

X. Inter-Colonial Wars . 103 

XI. A Summary of Colonial Development . 112 

Chronological Review (1607-1649). 123 

PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION AND THE CONFEDERATION 

XII. Events Leading Up to the War. 126 

XIII. First Period of the War—1775-1777. 136 

First Year of the War. /. 136 

Second Year of the War. 140 

Third Year of the War. 145 

11 






















12 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XIV. Second Period of the War—1777-1781. 152 

Fourth Year. 152 

Fifth Year. 155 

Sixth Year. 159 

Seventh Year. 161 

XV. The Critical Period of Our History—1781-1789 .... 165 

Chronological Review (1763-1776)... 176 

PERIOD OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES TO THE 

CIVIL WAR 

XVI. Condition of the New Nation. 181 

XVII. George Washington’s Administration—1789-1797. 189 

XVIII. John Adams’s Administration—1797-1801. 202 

XIX. Thomas Jefferson’s Administration—1801-1809. 207 

XX. James Madison’s Administration—1809-1817. 216 

XXL James Monroe’s Administration—1817-1825. 228 

XXII. John Quincy Adams’s Administration—1825-1829. 235 

XXIII. Andrew Jackson’s Administration—1829-1837. 240 

XXIV. Martin Van Buren’s Administration—1837-1841. 249 

XXV. The Harrison-Tyler Administration—1841-1845. 253 

XXVI. James Polk’s Administration—1845-1849. 258 

XXVII. The Taylor-Fillmore Administration—1849-1853. 266 

XXVIII. Franklin Pierce’s Administration—1853-1857. 273 

XXIX. James Buchanan’s Administration—1857-1861. 277 

Chronological Review (1789-1861). 283 

PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 

XXX. Abraham Lincoln’s Administration—1861-1865. 291 

First Year of the War. 294 

Second Year of the War. 300 

Third Year of the War.. 310 

XXXI. From the Battle of Gettysburg to Lee’s Surrender 

at Appomattox. 313 

Political Affairs. 316 

Fourth and Last Year of the War. 317 

Chronological Review (1861-1865). 331 






























CONTENTS 


13 


PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXII. Andrew Johnson’s Administration—1865-1869. 335 

XXXIII. Ulysses S. Grant’s Administration—1869-1877. 343 

XXXIV. Rutherford B. Hayes’s Administration—1877-1881 . . 351 

XXXV. The Garfield-Arthur Administration—1881-1885. 356 

XXXVI. Grover Cleveland’s Administration—1885-1889. 360 

XXXVII. Benjamin Harrison’s Administration—1889-1893. 365 

XXXVIII. Grover Cleveland’s Second Administration—1893-1897 370 

XXXIX. William McKinley’s Administration—1897-1901. 375 

Spanish-American War. 376 

XL. Theodore Roosevelt’s Administration—1901-1909.... 386 

XLI. William H. Taft’s Administration—1909-1913. 395 

XLII. Woodrow Wilson’s Administration—1913-1921. 401 

XLIII. Warren G. Harding’s Administration—1921- 443 

XLIV. A Century’s Progress. 450 

Chronological Review.. *. 478 

APPENDICES 

A Reading List for Pupils. 485 

References for Pupils. 487 

A Reading List for the Teacher. 490 

References for the Teacher. 492 

The Declaration of Independence. 495 

The Provisions of the Constitution Outlined. 499 

The Constitution of the United States. 502 

Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries of State, 

and Chief Justices. 520 

Table of the States. 521 


INDEX 


522 
























LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Christopher Columbus. 

Indian Wigwam. 

An Iroquois Long-house. 

Ruins of a Norse Church. 

A Viking Ship. 

Early Printers. 

Departure of Columbus. 

The Fleet of Columbus. 

Americus Vespucius. 

Balboa. 

Bartholomew Las Casas. 

Zuni Pueblos. 

Mission of San Juan Capistrano. 

Sebastian Cabot. 

Drake's Ship. 

An Indian Village. 

Quebec Today. 

Tadousac, Canada. 

French Explorers and the Indians.... 

The Missionary’s Blessing. 

Father Isaac Jogues. 

Lily of the Mohawks. 

Hudson’s Ship, the Half Moon. 

The Trading Post at New Amsterdam 
The Arrival of the Women in Virginia 

College of William and Mary. 

George Calvert. 

Early Annapolis. 

Blackbeard. 

James E. Oglethorpe. 

Dutch Maiden. 

Dutch Settlers. 

A Dutch Tavern. 

Foot of Wall Street—1673 .. 

Penn’s Treaty with the Indians. 

Brewster’s Residence at Scrooby. 

A Group of Pilgrims. 

New England Kitchen. 

The Stocks and Pillory. 

John Winthrop... 

French and Indians. 

The Taking of Quebec. 

Death of Wolfe. 

A Southern Mansion. 

Boston in 1743. 

Baltimore in 1752. 

A Post-Rider. 

A Spinning Wheel. 

Puritan Costumes. 

Drilling the Colonists. 

George III. 

Patrick Henry. 

Faneuil Hall Today. 

Old South Church. 

George Washington. 

Craigie House. 

Independence Hall, 1776. 

A Hessian Soldier. 

Robert Morris... 

Continental Artillery. 

Valley Forge. 

Captain John Barry. 


PAGE 

Frontispiece 
...... 18 

. 19 

. 22 

. 23 

. 24 

. 26 

. 27 

. 31 

. 33 

. 34 

. 36 

. 38 

. 40 

. 42 

. 43 

. 47 

. 48 

. 49 

. 51 

. 52 

. 53 

. 56 

. 57 

. 66 

. 68 

. 70 

. 72 

. 75 

. 76 

. 80 

. 81 

. 82 

. 83 

. 86 

. 89 

. 90 

. 92 

. 97 

. 99 

. 103 

. 108 

. 109 

. 113 

. 114 

. 115 

. 116 

. 120 

. 121 

. 126 

. 127 

.129 

. 131 

. 132 

. 137 

. 138 

. 141 

. 145 

. 146 

. 149 

. 152 

.156 


14 
































































LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS 


15 


A Sea Fight of the Period. 

Continental Currency. 

Alexander Hamilton. 

Pulaski. 

Marquis de Lafayette. 

Pack-Horses.. 

An Emigrant Wagon. 

Plowing in Early Days. 

Bishop Carroll. 

Benjamin Franklin. 

Washington and His Mother. 

Federal Hall... 

The Treasury Department Today. 

Cincinnati in 1819. 

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin. 

Georgetown University. 

John Adams. 

Washington’s Tomb at Mt. Vernon. 

John Marshall. 

Thomas Jefferson. 

The Capitol Today. 

Fulton’s Steamboat. 

Monticello—Jefferson’s Home. 

James Madison... 

Battle of Lake Champlain. 

James Monroe. 

Chicago in 1820.. 

John Quincy Adams. 

An Early Railroad. 

Andrew Jackson. 

Daniel Webster. 

Henry Clay. 

Heading of Garrison’s Paper. 

Martin Van Buren. 

John Tyler. 

James K. Polk... 

A Night on the California Trail.. 

The Chapel of the San Gabriel Mission. 

Zachary Taylor. 

Millard Fillmore. 

Franklin Pierce.. 

Dispersing a Kansas Constitutional Convention 

James Buchanan. 

A Lincoln-Douglas Debate. 

Abraham Lincoln... 

Jefferson Davis... 

The Monitor and the Merrimac . 

Thomas J. Jackson. 

William T. Sherman. 

Admiral Farragut. 

Robert E. Lee... 

General Philip Sheridan. 

Andrew Johnson. 

Thaddeus Stevens. 

William H. Seward. 

An Alaskan Trading Post. 

Ulysses S. Grant. 

Joining the Railroads. 

Cardinal McCloskey. .. 

Rutherford B. Hayes. 

Eads Bridge. 

James A. Garfield. 

Chester A. Arthur. 

Picking Cotton. 

Grover Cleveland. 

U. S. Battleship “Texas”. 

The Statue of Liberty. 

Benjamin Harrison. 


PAGE 

157 
. 162 
. 169 
. 173 
. 174 
. 182 
. 183 
. 184 
. 185 
. 187 
. 190 
. 192 
. 193 
. 195 
. 198 
. 199 
. 202 
. 204 
. 205 
. 208 
. 209 
. 211 
. 213 
. 216 
. 224 
. 228 
. 230 
. 235 
. 237 
. 240 
. 241 
. 243 
. 245 
. 249 
. 253 
. 258 
. 262 
. 264 
. 268 
. 268 
. 273 
. 274' 
. 277 
. 278 
. 292 
. 297 
. 304 
. 310 
. 319 
. 322 
. 328 
. 329 
. 336 
. 337 
. 340 
. 341 
. 344 
. 346 
. 349 
. 351 
. 353 
. 356 
. 357 
. 358 
360 
. . 361 
. 363 
. . 366 






































































16 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


The Opening of Oklahoma. 

Grounds of Oahu College. 

William McKinley. 

The “Maine” Entering Havana Harbor. 

Huts in Porto Rico... 

The Congressional Library. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 

Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal. 

The American Fleet. 

William Howard Taft. 

Chief Justice White. 

Woodrow Wilson. 

Pope Benedict X V... 

Setting-up Exercises at Camp Benning, Georgia 

Troops on a Transport Bound for France. 

A Formation of Naval Cadets. 

Herbert Hoover. .. 

Welfare Organization Leaders. 

General John J. Pershing... 

The Grave of America’s Unknown Soldier. 

Returned Soldiers Parading in New York. 

American Soldiers at an European Monastery. . 

Chaplain John O’Donnell. .. 

President Warren G. Harding. 

Pope Pius XI.. 

A Filipino House in a Tree-top. 

Immigrants at Ellis Island. 

The New York Waterfront. 

A Modern Reaper. 

A Wireless Station.. 

Notre Dame University. 

The White House at Washington. 

Henry W. Longfellow. 

John G. Whittier. 

Oliver W. Holmes. 

Cardinal Gibbons. 


PAGE 

368 

372 

375 

377 

381 

384 

386 

388 

393 

395 

398 

401 

412 

417 

418 

419 
421 
423 

, 425 
430 

432 

433 
435 
444 
448 

451 

452 
. 453 
. 455 
. 456 
. 462 
. 466 
. 469 
. 469 
. 470 
. 475 


MAPS 


PAGE 


Distribution of Indian Tribes. 20 

Routes Around Africa. 25 

Line of Demarcation. 30 

Magellan’s Voyage. 35 

Routes of Early Spanish Explorers. ... 37 

Routes of Early Discoverers. 41 

Map Illustrating European Idea of 

America in 1548. 50 

Jamestown and Vicinity. 63 

Captain John Smith’s Map of Virginia. . 64 

South Atlantic Coast. 74 

Philadelphia and Vicinity .....* . 87 

French and Indian War. 105 

Louisburg. 107 

Map Illustrating the Revolutionary War. 135 

Boston and Vicinity. 136 

Campaign of 1776. 143 

Philadelphia and Vicinity. 147 

Wyoming Valley. 153 

Map of Southern Campaign. 158 

The Original Thirteen States 

. Facing 182 

Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 210 

Map Illustrating War of 1812. 218 

Fort Detroit. 220 

Campaign of 1813. 222 


PAGE 


Campaign Around Washington, 1814. . . 223 

The Cumberland National Road. 229 

The Erie Canal. 236 

Republic of Texas. 247 

The Oregon Country. 255 

Disputed Mexican Boundary. 259 

The Advance Toward Mexico. 260 

Harper’s Ferry and Vicinity. 280 

Slavery and Secession. Facing 282 

Reference Map of the Civil War 

. Facing 294 

Fort Sumter. 295 

Washington and Vicinity. 296 

Bull Run and Manassas. 299 

Down the Mississippi. 302 

Peninsular Campaign. 307 

Gettysburg and Vicinity. 311 

Vicksburg Campaign. 313 

Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain. . 314 

Chattanooga to Atlanta. 318 

Sherman’s March North. 320 

The Wilderness District. 321 

Last Battles. 323 

Continental Expansion. Following 342 

Map Illustrating the World War. 410 

United States Possessions, 1915. .Facing 452 
















































































A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


PERIOD OF EARLIEST INHABITANTS 

CHAPTER I 
THE INDIANS 

1. Name and Origin. When Columbus discovered America he 
found here a strange people, with high cheek-bones, copper- 
colored skin, small, dark eyes, and thick, black hair. Since 
Columbus thought he had reached India, he called these natives 
Indians. We are not certain how long the Indians had been here, 
nor from what place they had come, though some believe they 
had emigrated from Asia many ages before the white man came. 

2. Manners and Customs. In cold weather the Indian wore 
the furry skins of animals, which he decorated with beads or 
other ornaments, while in warm weather he wore little or no 
clothing. His home was a tent, called a wigwam, that might be 
moved from place to place, a rude hut made of earth or bark, or 
a cavern among the mountain cliffs. 

The woman, called “squaw,” did most of the work. She 
planted the seeds, gathered the scanty crops of maize, or “Indian 
corn,” pumpkins, and tobacco, carried the wigwam when the 
man decided to move, dried the skins of the wild animals caught 
by the men, and made the moccasins and other articles of 
clothing. 

The man was a warrior who spent most of his time in fighting. 
His weapons were the bow and arrow, the club, the knife, and 
the tomahawk. When not engaged in war, he hunted or fished. 
On land he traveled by foot, following the trail of the deer or 

17 



18 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


the buffalo; on the lakes and rivers he used his birch-bark canoe. 
Although he had no written language, he sometimes recorded 
battles and other events by means of picture writing. 



INDIAN WIGWAM 


3. Religion. The Indian was a worshiper of nature and of 
his ancestors. He saw in every animal, plant, or object in 
nature a divinity, not to be loved, but to be feared. Only after 
the coming of the missionaries did the idea of a Supreme Being, 
or “ Great Spirit,” enter into his religion. He thought that after 
death he would live in the “Happy Hunting Ground,” the 
Indian’s heaven. 














THE INDIANS 


19 


4. Degrees of Civilization. There were three groups among 
the early Indians—savage, barbarous, and semi-civilized. 

The savage Indians lived in the country west of Hudson Bay 
and west of the Rocky Mountains as far south as the northern 
part of Mexico. They did not till the soil or settle in villages, 
but lived on fish and game, moving from one place to another. 



AN" IROQUOIS LONG-HOUSE 


The barbarous Indians inhabited all of North America south 
of Hudson Bay and east of the Rocky Mountains. They raised 
such plants as maize, tobacco, pumpkins, squashes, beans, 
tomatoes, and sunflowers, and lived in villages consisting of 
houses of bark or sunburnt clay and wigwams. (See page 18.) 
Three great families of Indians living east of the Mississippi 
River belonged to this second division, and were those with 
whom the white people first came into contact. 

The semi-civilized Indians lived chiefly in the mountainous 
country from New Mexico southward as far as Chile. They 
tilled and irrigated the soil and built houses and forts four or 
five stories high. Their dwellings, frequently grouped in villages, 


































20 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 





























THE INDIANS 


21 


were called pueblos, and were sometimes built high up on cliffs 
for protection against attacks by the savage Indians. 

5. Mounds. Many thousands of mounds built by the earliest 
inhabitants of America are found in the valleys of the Ohio and 
Mississippi Rivers. These mound-buildings are shaped like ani¬ 
mals, temples, and forts. At one time it was thought that they 
were built by a mysterious and highly civilized race, because of 
the skill shown in the beautifully carved wooden dishes and other 
relics discovered in them. Later examination of these relics, 
however, has led to the belief that the “Mound Builders” were 
the ancestors of the Indians found in the country by Columbus 
and other early explorers. 

Questions 

1. How many centuries have passed since Europeans discovered the Ameri¬ 
can Indian? Why were they called Indians? 

2. Describe the dress and the home of the Indian. How was the work 
divided between the men and the women? Can you think of a good reason 
why the women should carry the wigwam when the family was traveling 
through the wilderness? 

3. What idea did the missionary contribute to the Indian’s religious belief? 

4. Show on the map of the western hemisphere the territory occupied by 
savage Indians. By barbarous Indians. By semi-civilized Indians. 

5. How were the mounds formed? Who built them? Show on the map 
where they have been found. 

Theme Topics 

1. Let some of the girls in the class imagine that they are Indian girls. 
Let them describe in a two-paragraph theme how they helped to move from 
one hunting-ground to another. 

2. Let a number of boys in the class tell how Indian boys made weapons 
with which to hunt. 


PERIOD OF DISCOVERIES AND 
EXPLORATIONS 


CHAPTER II 

TRADE IN THE OLD WORLD: DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD 

EUROPE SEEKS A ROUTE TO INDIA 

6. The Northmen. The Northmen, who were the early inhab¬ 
itants of Norway and Sweden, were probably the first Europeans 
to set foot on the American continent. These bold sea-rovers 
discovered and colonized Iceland, Greenland, and later on, the 
North American continent. Leif Ericson, one of these North¬ 
men, about the year 1000 sailed along the coast of Newfoundland, 
Nova Scotia, and New England. There is a tradition that he found¬ 
ed a colony some¬ 
where on the coast. 
Finding wild grapes 
abundant, Ericson 
called the country 
Vinland. 

These Northmen 
brought the Catholic 
faith with them and 
established churches 
and monasteries in 
Greenland. The dis¬ 
covery of America by 
the Northmen had no 
important results; the colonists who settled in Greenland died 
of a terrible pestilence known as the “black death,” and knowl¬ 
edge of the route to the new continent was almost forgotten. 

22 



RUINS OF A NORSE CHURCH 
IN GREENLAND 










































TRADE AND DISCOVERY 


23 


7. The Crusades. It was nearly five hundred years after 
the explorations of the Northmen before the New World was 
visited again by Europeans. We must know something about 
the conditions in Europe before we can understand how our 
country came to be discovered. Even previous to the discovery 
of America by the Northmen, the people of Europe had been 
carrying on trade with various countries in Asia, especially 
China and India. This trade increased rapidly after the Cru¬ 
sades (1095-1291). The Crusades were holy wars undertaken by 
Christian nations for the deliverance of the Holy Land, especially 
the sepulcher of our Lord, from the hands of the Turks. The 
Crusades brought 
the people of Eu¬ 
rope to a closer 
knowledge of the 
eastern world. 

8. A Great Trav¬ 

eler. About the 
time the Crusades 
ended, Marco Polo, 
a trader of Venice, 
wrote a book in 
which he described 
his travels in China A viking ship 

and India. He gave 

glowing accounts of the wealth of these countries and aroused 
much interest. His book, which confirmed the growing belief 
that there was an ocean east of Asia, was read by many men 
during the next three centuries, inspiring some of them to seek 
India by setting sail into the unknown sea. 

9. Commercial Centers. For almost two hundred years after 
Marco Polo had written his book, European traders had no 
great need to find a new route to India. Genoa and Venice, two 
Italian cities that controlled the commerce between Europe and 
Asia, had become rich. Dyestuffs, spices, silks, precious stones, 

























24 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


and ivory were brought by ships and caravans from India, China, 
and Japan; apd iron, tin, lead, grains, soap, and furs were given 
in exchange. There were three routes by which trading between 
the countries was carried on, the chief one passing through 
Constantinople. This trade continued to grow until 1453, when 
the Turks conquered Constantinople. From this time on, the 
Turks, who were Mohammedans and the enemies of the Chris¬ 
tian nations of Europe, made trading between these nations and 
the eastern countries very difficult and expensive. 

The traders of Genoa and Venice, recalling Marco Polo’s belief, 
now began to study the problem of how to reach India by sea. 
If this could be done, a nearer and cheaper route to the rich 
products of the East would be assured. 

10. The Earth a Globe. Most of the people at this time did 
not agree with the idea that the earth is a sphere; they thought 
that it was flat*, surrounded by the oceans and the dome-like 

heavens. The best-educated 
men, however, believed that 
the earth is a sphere. This 
theory which had been held 
by Aristotle, a famous Greek 
philosopher, three centuries 
lief ore the Christian era, was 
preserved during the Middle 
Ages chiefly by the great 
monastic and secular scholars 
of the Catholic Church; for 
example, Cardinal D’Ailly, 
Roger Bacon, Prince Henry 
of Portugal, Copernicus, Galileo, and Toscanelli. 

11. Aids to Discovery. Brave men now began to explore the 
seas, chiefly trying to find a short route to India, but also expect¬ 
ing to discover new lands. Four inventions which had recently 
come into use did much to encourage exploration: (1) The com¬ 
pass pointed out to the sailor the direction in which he was 










TRADE AND DISCOVERY 


25 


moving; (2) the astrolabe enabled him to tell his latitude; (3) the 
printing press spread abroad the knowledge of newly found 
lands, inspiring men to go into far countries in search of wealth 
and fame; and (4) gunpowder made easy the conquest of un¬ 
civilized peoples. 



12. Cape of Good Hope Reached. Prince Henry of Portugal, 
one of the most learned men of his time, wished to spread a 
knowledge of geography and to convert the heathen. He estab¬ 
lished a school of navigation, where students were taught by the 
wisest men of Europe. Through his efforts Portugal became the 
foremost country in searching for a waterway to the Indies 
around Africa. Beginning early in the fifteenth century, and 
continuing for seventy years, her vessels and seamen cautiously 
skirted the coasts of Africa. Finally, in 1487, Bartholomew 
Diaz, a Portuguese, completed a voyage from Lisbon along the 
African coast to the extreme southern point, which he called the 
Cape of Storms, and thence far into the Indian Ocean. The cape 
was renamed Cape of Good Hope by the monarch of Portugal. 






26 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


COLUMBUS DISCOVERS AMERICA 

13. The Great Adventurer. The successful voyages of Diaz 
and other early explorers led Christopher Columbus, an Italian 
seaman of Genoa, to plan a voyage for the discovery of a sea 
route to India. He had read Marco Polo’s book of travel, and 
he believed that the earth is round. No man had yet been brave 



DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS (FROM AN OLD ENGRAVING) 


enough to sail westward across the “Sea of Darkness,” as the 
Atlantic Ocean was then called, for the voyage was considered 
very dangerous. Columbus himself had an incorrect idea of the 
real size of the earth, for he thought that by sailing three thou¬ 
sand miles directly west from the Canary Islands, he could reach 
India. His plan was to sail straight forward into the sea; all 
the explorers before this time had sailed close to the shores of 
Africa. 


























































TRADE AND DISCOVERY 


27 



14. In Quest of Help. To carry out his plan Columbus needed 
the support of some government. He first tried to interest the 
King of Portugal in his proposed voyage, but receiving no 
encouragement, he turned to Spain. Here he learned that 
Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish King and Queen, could not 
help him, since Spain was then at war with the Moors. Soon 
afterwards, however, the Spanish armies defeated the Moors. 


Nina Santa Maria Pinta 

THE FLEET OF COLUMBUS 

Then the Queen, guided by her confessor, Father Juan Perez, 
who was a friend of Columbus, called the navigator to her 
court and listened to his plea. Finally, Queen Isabella promised 
to aid Columbus, offering, if necessary, to sell her jewels to 
raise money for his plans. She thought that Columbus would 
be able to spread the Catholic religion among the heathen men 
of the East. 

15. Columbus Prepares for the Voyage. Columbus went to 
Palos, Spain, to make preparations for the voyage. This was a 
difficult task, for even the most daring seamen shrank from join- 








28 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ing such an undertaking. But at length Columbus succeeded in 
fitting out three small ships manned with one hundred and 
twenty men, many of whom were forced into service by order 
of the King. Thus with the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the 
Pinta, filled for the most part with unwilling men, the world- 
finder was at last ready to begin his great western voyage. 

Had it not been for his faithful Franciscan friend, Father 
Juan Perez, Columbus would probably have failed to secure the 
necessary number of men to fit out his expedition. Through 
the influence of this good Father, the Pinzon brothers, expe¬ 
rienced sailors, agreed to accompany Columbus. The worthy 
priest also exerted great influence over the townspeople of 
Palos, going among them and inducing them to join in the 
expedition. 

16. The Voyage. Columbus sailed from Palos on Friday, 
August 3, 1492, at 8 a. m. He steered straight into the track¬ 
less ocean, relying firmly on God and on his own scientific 
theory. This fact alone is sufficient to make him one of the most 
sublime figures in history. Before sailing, Columbus and his 
crew received the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist, 
and assisted at Holy Mass offered by Father Juan Perez in 
the monastery of Rabida. Columbus delayed for some weeks at 
the Canary Islands for the purpose of refitting his vessels. 
From here the little fleet sailed westward. Belts of calms, the 
variation of the magnetic needle of the compass,-and other real 
or imaginary causes made the much-frightened crew ready for 
mutiny. They resolved to throw Columbus into the sea if he 
refused to return to Spain. Columbus, sustained by strength 
from on High, declared that nothing could turn him from his 
course. He succeeded in calming the fears of his men, and 
on Friday, October 12, 1492, land was sighted; immediately 
Columbus and his crew fell on their knees and chanted the 
Te Deum. 

17. The Landing. The next morning at daybreak Columbus 
stepped on shore and, kneeling with his men, gave thanks to 


TRADE AND DISCOVERY 


29 


God. He took possession of the land in the name of the Spanish 
sovereigns and called it San Salvador. He then solemnly planted 
a large cross, and he and his men chanted the Vexilla Regis. 

Columbus cruised from island to island, discovered Cuba and 
Haiti, and left on the latter thirty-nine men to form a colony, 
which was soon destroyed by the natives. In the newly dis¬ 
covered lands, which he called West Indies because he thought 
he had reached India, Columbus found tobacco and the sweet 
potato, which he had never seen before. 

Although we usually say that Columbus discovered America, 
he did not actually reach the mainland of the continent. San 
Salvador and the other islands that he discovered are several 
hundred miles from the coast of the American continent. (See 
map on page 41.) 

18. Return Voyage. In January, 1493, Columbus set out on 
his return voyage with only the Nina and the Pinta, the Santa 
Maria having been wrecked on the island of Haiti. He took 
with him gold, cotton, native birds, strange plants and animals, 
and six Indians. After a stormy voyage he reached the harbor 
of Palos, on Friday, March 15, 1493. From Palos he went to 
Barcelona, where he was received with great ceremony by the 
king and queen. The Indians were instructed and baptized, 
Queen Isabella standing at the font of baptism as their god¬ 
mother. 

19. Later Voyages of Columbus. Columbus made three more 
voyages to the New World, discovering the islands of Porto 
Rico, Jamaica, and Trinidad, as well as the continent of South 
America. He did not know that he had discovered a continent 
and wondered why he did not find Asia’s riches. 

On his second expedition Columbus took with him fifteen 
hundred Spaniards in seventeen vessels with necessary supplies. 
And now, with strict commands from the Queen to christianize 
the Indians and to treat them well, he brought the first mission¬ 
aries, twelve in number, to America. Among them was the 
Vicar-Apostolic, Father Bernard Boyl, of the Order of St. Bene- 


30 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


diet. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered for the first 
time on the shores of America by Father Juan Perez. Columbus 
founded the city of Isabella on the island of Haiti, and here in 
January, 1494, the first church was built and High Mass was 
solemnly celebrated on the sixth day of that month. 

20. Immediate Results of the Voyages of Columbus. Colum¬ 
bus gave to Spain and the world a new continent, and the spirit 
of discovery was greatly increased. In less than forty-five 
years, the eastern coast of North and South America was fairly 

well known; while, in the in¬ 
terior, great empires had been 
conquered. 

21. Line of Demarcation. 

Spain and Portugal, the Cath¬ 
olic powers of Europe, fearing 
that they might come into 
collision in the rapid progress 
of their discoveries, appealed 
to the common father of the 
faithful to mark out the limits 
cf the new lands they ex¬ 
pected to discover. The Pope, 
Alexander VI (1493), fixed 
what is known as the Line of 
line of demarcation Demarcation, extending from 

the north pole to the south 
pole at a distance of one hundred leagues west of the Azores and 
the Cape Verde Islands. He decreed that all the lands dis¬ 
covered west of this line were to belong to Spain, those east to 
Portugal. A treaty between Spain and Portugal shortly after¬ 
wards fixed the line three hundred seventy leagues west of the 
Cape Verde Islands. 

22. The New Route to India—Brazil Discovered. Vasco de 
Gama, a Portuguese, in 1497 sailed from Lisbon around the 
Cape of Good Hope to Hindustan, thus finding the long-searched- 
























TRADE AND DISCOVERY 


31 


for route to India. Upon his return to Portugal, there was no 
doubt as to where he had been, for his ships were laden with the 
riches of the East. The goal was reached at last. 

In 1500 Pedro Cabral, a Portuguese navigator, on his way to 
India by way of the Cape of Good Hope, sighted the coast of 
Brazil. 

23. The Origin of the Name America. Americus Vespucius, 
a citizen of Florence, skilled in geography and astronomy, sailed 
first in the employ of Spain (1499) and afterwards in that of 
Portugal. He made several voyages, including one which made 
known a large part of the Atlantic 
coast of South America. In 1507, a 
year after the death of Columbus, a 
German professor named Martin 
Waldseemiiller, in a little treatise 
upon geography, commented upon 
the explorations of Vespucius, saying, 

“But now these parts have been ex¬ 
tensively explored and another fourth 
part has been discovered by Americus 
Vespucius; therefore I do not see what 
is rightly to hinder us from calling it 
Amerige or America; i. e., the land of 

Americus, after its discoverer Americus.” Eventually the name 
suggested by Waldseemiiller was given to the whole western 
continent. 

Questions 



AMERICUS VESPUCIUS 


1. Look at the map of the world and tell how far Leif Ericson had to sail 
from Norway in order to reach America. In what general direction were 
he and his men sailing? (Remember this, because we shall find the move¬ 
ment repeated again and again—Europeans moving west.) 

2. Show on the map the location of the Holy Land. Trace the route 
taken by the throngs of Europeans who took part in the Crusades. Why 
did they undertake this dangerous journey? What new ideas did the return¬ 
ing Crusaders bring back to Europe? How did this knowledge affect trade? 
What articles had the East to sell to the West? What articles did the West 
have to exchange with the East? 






32 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED^ STATES 


3. Why did Europe in the fifteenth century begin to search for a water 
route to the East? Why do we remember Prince Henry of Portugal? 

4. Trace on the map the voyage undertaken by Diaz in 1487. Why did 
the Portuguese call the cape at the southern part of Africa the Cape of Good 
Hope? 

5. In the fifteenth century what shape did many people believe the earth 
to be? Did Columbus agree with this idea? How did he plan to reach the 
East by sea? What difficulties did he meet in undertaking to carry out his 
plan? 

6. Describe his first voyage. Show on the map the lands he visited. Show 
on the map where he believed himself to be. 

7. Describe his later voyages. Show on the map additional territory he 
discovered. Why do we call our country America? 

8. What were the immediate results of Columbus’s voyages? 

9. Locate the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands. Show on the map the 
location of the Line of Demarcation. Why did Pope Alexander VI establish 
this line? 

10. Trace on the map the voyage of Vasco de Gama to Hindustan. Why 
was this voyage important? 

Theme Topics 

1. Have two pupils give an imaginary conversation between Columbus 
and a frightened sailor on shipboard during the first voyage. 

2. Describe the landing of Columbus in a short theme of one paragraph. 

3. Columbus a Religious Man. (Read carefully the reference* to Father 
Higgins’s story and choose the incidents from the story which show the 
great admiral to have been deeply religious. Be able to describe these 
incidents orally during the language period.) 

4. The Adventures and Journeys of Marco Polo. (See the reference* to 
Southworth.) 


*A11 references will be found on pages 485 and following. 



CHAPTER III 


THE SPANISH IN AMERICA 

24. The First City—The First Spaniards in the United States. 

Spain, encouraged by the success of the Portuguese adventurers, 
continued to send out explorers. After the voyage of Americus 
Vespucius to South America, the people of Spain believed that 
a new continent had been found; they no longer cared about 
finding a route to India, but became 
interested in searching for the gold 
and riches they thought existed in the 
new lands. 

Porto Rico, discovered by Colum- • 
bus, had been settled by Spaniards. 

Ponce de Leon, the governor of the 
island, having heard stories from the 
Indians of a land rich in gold and con¬ 
taining a fountain of youth, began a 
vain search for it, during which he dis¬ 
covered Florida. Already, in 1511, he 
had founded San Juan, Porto Rico, 
the oldest city in the present United 
States territory. Two years later, on 
Easter Sunday, he planted a cross and raised the Spanish flag 
on the newly discovered territory, which he named Florida 
(Flowery Easter). 

25. Discovery of the Pacific Ocean. Pushing through the 
rough lands and mountains near the Isthmus of Panama, Balboa, 
a Spanish adventurer, discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513. 
He took possession of it and of all land bordering on it for Spain, 
naming the great body of water the South Sea. 

33 



BALBOA 


34 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


26. The Conquest of Mexico. In 1519 Cortez was sent by the 
governor of Cuba to explore Mexico. He built a fort on a favor¬ 
able point which he called Vera Cruz, and then pushed into the 
interior of the country. Here he overthrew the empire of the 
Aztec Indians, thus conquering Mexico, which, with its rich 
mines, became a Spanish province. 

27. Bartholomew Las Casas (1474-1566). The bishop of 
Chiapa in Mexico, a Dominican missionary among the Indians, 
was the first priest ordained in America. The title “ Protector 

General of the Indians” was given 
him for the untiring zeal with 
which he served them for sixty 
years. 

28. Circumnavigation of the 
Globe. Magellan, a Portuguese in 
the service of Spain, searching 
for a strait leading to the South 
Sea (Pacific Ocean), in 1519 
sailed across the Atlantic, coasted 
along South America, passed 
through the strait now bearing 
his name, and sailed out upon the 
great ocean discovered by Balboa. 
He next struck westward and dis¬ 
covered the Philippine Islands, where he was killed in an en¬ 
counter with the natives. His companions made their way back 
to Spain around the Cape of Good Hope, thus completing the 
first circumnavigation of the globe (1519-1522). 

29. Conquest of Peru (1531-1536). Francisco Pizarro con¬ 
quered Peru, in South America, and founded the city of Lima. 
Peru was a rich empire inhabited by the Incas, who were the 
only shepherd Indians. They possessed great flocks of llamas, 
which looked like little camels and served as valuable beasts of 
burden. They also supplied wool used in weaving coarse cloth 
which even the Spanish ladies of rank were proud to wear. 
Never before in the history of the world had so much gold and 







THE SPANISH IN AMERICA 


35 


silver been discovered; vessels, utensils, images and beads of 
pure gold, and great planks and bars of solid silver were found. 

30. The Attempted Conquest of Florida. In 1528 Narvaez led 
from Cuba an unsuccessful expedition of four hundred men to 
conquer Florida. The company perished; only four of the num¬ 
ber survived to tell one of the saddest tales of history. One of 
the Franciscan missionaries, Father Juan Juarez, accompanied 
the unfortunate expedition and shared its fate. Cabeza de Vaca 



Magellan’s voyage 


and three companions, the only survivors, were made slaves by 
the Indians. In the course of eight years they wandered from 
Florida to the Gulf of California, over two thousand miles, 
suffering great dangers and tortures. In California Vaca found 
Spanish friends from Mexico. 

31. Exploration of New Mexico and Arizona. Friar Marcos, 
an Italian Franciscan, was sent in 1539 by the viceroy of Mexico 
to find the “Seven Cities of Cibola.” Hoping to find new tribes 
of Indians to convert, he discovered what is now New Mexico 
and Arizona. Directed by the Indians, he came at last in 
sight of the Zuni pueblos. Since he believed that the name 
of the city he saw was Cibola, he called the pueblos “The Seven 
Cities of Cibola.” After planting a cross, he took possession of 
the wild region, which he called San Francisco, and claimed it 
for Spain. 






36 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Accompanied by Friar Marcos, Coronado (1540) explored 
the territory from the Gulf of California to the present state 
of Kansas. About the same time Hernando de Alarcon explored 
the region of the Colorado River. 

32. Discovery of the Mississippi River. Fernando de Soto, 
governor of Cuba, landed at Tampa Bay, Florida, with nearly 
six hundred men, equipped for the conquest of a kingdom like 



ZUNI PUEBLOS 


that of Peru or Mexico. He found no treasures, but discovered 
the Mississippi River at the present site of Memphis. De Soto 
died in 1542 and was buried in the great river he had discovered 
the year before. 

33. Oldest Cities in the United States. Menendez founded 
St. Augustine in 1565, the oldest city within the present limits of 
the United States. He cruelly destroyed the little French 
Huguenot settlement, which was located north of St. Augustine. 
This deed was revenged shortly afterwards by the French adven- 
























THE SPANISH IN AMERICA 


37 


turer, De Gourgues, who attacked St. Augustine and mercilessly 
slew the colonists. 

Santa Fe, the second oldest white settlement in the United 
States, was established in 1605 by the Spaniards. 

34. Spain and the New World. To Spain is due the discovery 
of the New World. Her teachers taught the Spanish language 
and Christian faith to thousands of the. natives. There were 
Spanish schools for Indians in America as early as 1524. Many 
books in different Indian languages were printed by the Spanish 
in Mexico where a printing press was set up as early as 1536. 



On the other hand, the only Indian book printed in America by 
the English was John Eliot’s Indian Bible. A Spanish univer¬ 
sity in America was founded in 1551 and was almost ready to 
celebrate its first centennial when Harvard was founded (1636). 
A number were older than Harvard. A great proportion of the 
Spanish pioneers were educated men, and intelligence went hand 
in hand with heroism in the early settlement of the New World. 

35. First Churches—First Convent. The first church in what 
is now the United States was founded at St. Augustine, Florida 
(1565); the second in New Mexico, near Sante Fe (1598); the 






















38 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


third at Santa Fe (about 1606); and the fourth also at Santa 
Fe (1627). The original walls of the church of San Miguel, 
which was built in Santa Fe in 1636, are still standing, forming a 
part of a church which is used today. The oldest convent in 
the United States is the historical institution of the Ursulines in 
New Orleans, established in 1727. 

36. The Pioneer Missionaries. The missionaries were the 
pioneers not only of the cross and religion but also of civilization. 
Although they suffered untold hardships, they continued to preach 



MISSION OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 


the Gospel to the Indians until eventually half the natives of the 
continent were converted to the Catholic faith. These pious 
men studied the language of the Indians and won their confi¬ 
dence. They taught them to read and write and to sow and reap. 

The Benedictines, the Franciscans, the Dominicans, and the 
Jesuits all had a share in the conversion and civilization of the 
Indians, but the Franciscans were the Apostles of Spanish Amer¬ 
ica. In spite of the wonderful work which they did among the 
Indians, many of these missionaries were cruelly martyred. 







THE SPANISH IN AMERICA 


39 


Questions 

1. After learning that a new continent, not India, had been discovered, 
why was western Europe still interested in sending out explorers? 

2. With what discovery is each of the following names connected: De Leon, 
Balboa, Cortez, Pizarro, Narvaez, Friar Marcos, De Soto? 

3. Why is Magellan’s voyage often considered the most remarkable in 
history? Trace the voyage on the map. 

4. Why did Bishop Las Casas devote his life to the protection of the Indians? 
For what purpose were the explorers working among the Indians? For what 
purpose were the missionaries working among the Indians? 

5. Locate St. Augustine. Locate Santa Fe. To what nation did Menendez 
belong? To what nation did De Gourgues belong? Why did Menendez 
destroy the French settlement? Why did De Gourgues destroy the Spanish 
settlement? 

6. During the sixteenth century what educational work did the Spanish 
accomplish in South America? How does this compare with work that had 
been done in North America? Why were the Spanish so far ahead? If you 
do not know, keep the problem in mind until you begin to study the coloniza¬ 
tion of North America. 

Theme Topics 

1. Describe the death of Magellan. 

2. Describe the burial of De Soto. 

3. Balboa Taking Possession of the Pacific Ocean. (See reference* to 
Father Higgins’s book.) 

4. Bishop Las Casas, Protector of the Indians. Tell the story orally dur¬ 
ing the language period. (See reference* to Father Higgins’s book.) 


* All references will be found on pages 485 and following. 



CHAPTER IV 


THE ENGLISH IN 'AMERICA 

37. English Explorations. England was finally stirred to 
activity by the discoveries of her rivals, Spain and Portugal. 
In 1497 King Henry VII of England sent out John Cabot to 
find a northwest passage to India. Cabot sailed west from 
England and discovered the mainland of North America, which 
he claimed in the name of the English King. Later he made 
another voyage, probably accompanied by his son, Sebastian. 
This time he explored the coast of North America from Nova 

Scotia to North Carolina. England’s 
claims in America were based upon 
these discoveries. 

38. Second Circumnavigation of 
the Globe. Sir Francis Drake set 
out from England in 1577 with a fleet 
of five vessels and sailed through the 
strait discovered by Magellan fifty 
years before. He followed the 
Pacific coast as far north as the 
present state of Oregon, crossed the 
Pacific, and passed the Philippine 
Islands. Making his way across the 
Indian Ocean, around the Cape of 
Good Hope, he finally reached England in 1580, having sailed 
entirely around the world. 

39. Motives for Explorations—Attempts at Colonization. The 

explorations of Cabot, Drake, and some other early English 
adventurers, were not made to found colonies in the New World, 

40 




THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 


41 



ROUTES OF EARLY DISCOVERERS 






























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































42 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


but to establish stopping places for future voyages to Asia, as 
well as stations from which Spanish treasure ships might be 
plundered. 

Later on, however, when Elizabeth became Queen of England, 
her advisers wanted her to send out explorers to discover lands 
that might be settled by Englishmen. These men wanted to 
establish colonies that would add riches to the kingdom. 

At this time England had become the most powerful nation 

in the world, outstrip¬ 
ping Spain and Por¬ 
tugal. Her commerce 
was growing rapidly, 
and she had built up a 
great navy. 

In order to establish 
a colony in America, 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert 
made several voyages 
across the Atlantic, all 
of which were failures. 
The last of these at¬ 
tempts, made in 1583, 
ended in Gilbert/s death; on his return voyage from Newfound¬ 
land his ship was wrecked in mid-ocean, and he and his entire 
crew were drowned. 

40. Raleigh’s Expeditions. Sir Walter Raleigh, the half- 
brother of Gilbert, sent exploring expeditions to America, 
although he himself never landed on American soil. One of the 
expeditions explored Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, and 
Roanoke Island. The explorers returned to England with such 
glowing accounts of the lands they had seen that Queen Elizabeth 
called the new country Virginia, in honor of herself, the “Virgin 
Queen.” 

Raleigh next sent out a company of men who established a 
colony on Roanoke Island. The colonists spent their time 



drake’s ship 







































THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 


43 


searching for gold and for a northwest passage. Soon their 
provisions were exhausted and they went back to England with 
Sir Francis Drake, who was returning from one of his explo¬ 
rations. 

The last attempt of Raleigh to establish a colony in America 
was made on Roanoke Island under John White, who, soon 
after his arrival, was 
compelled to return 
to England for sup¬ 
plies. There he found 
the whole kingdom 
preparing for the at¬ 
tack of the Invincible 
Armada, as the great 
Spanish navy was 
called. Three years 
passed before White 
was able to return to 
America. When he 
did return, he found 
that the colonists had 
disappeared, leaving- 
only the word “Cro- 
atan” cut on a tree. 

No other trace was 
ever found. 

Raleigh was not able to establish a successful colony in 
America, but his work was important. He led the people of 
England to look upon the New World as a place where permanent 
homes might be established. 

. 41. The Invincible Armada. Although Spain’s power was 
gradually declining, she had been able to build up a great fleet, 
the Invincible Armada, referred to just above. In 1567 the 
Netherlands, which had become a part of Spain’s territory, 
revolted, and England helped her to gain her independence. 



AN INDIAN VILLAGE 





































44 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Because of this act, the Spanish king, Philip II, sent out the 
Armada against England. There followed a great sea battle in 
which the Invincible Armada was defeated by the English sea¬ 
men. From this time on the English navy was supreme. 

42. First Englishman in New England. Bartholomew Gos- 
nold (1602) by sailing directly west, shortened the route across 
the Atlantic by more than one thousand five hundred miles. 
He explored the Massachusetts coast; named Cape Cod and 
Martha’s Vineyard; and attempted to make a settlement at the 
entrance of Buzzard’s Bay. 

43. London and Plymouth Companies. In 1606 a number of 
merchants and adventurers organized a company for the pur¬ 
pose of colonizing America. A charter was granted by King 
James I to the company, which consisted of two divisions, the 
London Company, located at London, and the Plymouth Com¬ 
pany of Plymouth. The first was given the land between 34° 
and 41° north latitude; the second was given the land between 
38° and 45° north latitude, the grant of each company extending 
one hundred miles inland. Later the grant to the London 
Company was increased so as to extend “from sea to sea, West 
and Northwest.” The charter granted to the colonists all the 
rights and privileges of citizens living in England. 


Questions 

1. What did England hope to discover through John Cabot’s voyages? 
What did Cabot find? Trace his voyages upon the map. Of what importance 
were they? When was the first voyage made? 

2. How -much later than Magellan was Sir Francis Drake? Trace his 
voyage. As Drake made his journey around South America he robbed and 
burned Spanish settlements all along each coast. When he returned to 
England he had shiploads of gold and silver from the plundered settlements. 
What effect do you think this English voyage had upon Spain? Do you see 
any connection between this plundering upon the part of England and the 
defeat of the Armada as described in Section 41? 

3. What effect did the destruction of the Armada have upon England’s 
exploration and colonization of North America? Compare the exploration 
and colonization of Spain and England up to this time. 


THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA 


45 


4. Describe Sir Walter Raleigh’s work. Of what importance was it? 
Describe the work of Gosnold. Of what importance was it? 

5. What were the London and Plymouth Companies? What land was 
given to each of them? 

Theme Topics 

1. Tell what the King of Spain said when he heard of Drake’s expedition. 

2. Give an imaginary account of what happened to Raleigh’s lost colony. 

3. Write a short theme of two paragraphs on “Raleigh on a Visit to an 
American City of Today.” 


CHAPTER V 
THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 

44. French Explorations. Stories of the vast riches that the 
Spanish ships carried back to Spain from Mexico and South 
America aroused great enthusiasm in France for exploration. 
In 1524 Francis I, King of France, sent Giovanni Verrazano to 
search for a passage to India. He explored the American coast 
from Cape Fear to Nova Scotia. Ten years later, James Cartier 
discovered the St. Lawrence River. He sailed up the river past 
the great rock on which Quebec now stands, going as far as an 
Indian village which he called Montreal. Upon these explora¬ 
tions France based her claims in America. Attempts were 
made to colonize this region, but they were unsuccessful. 

45. First Permanent French Settlement. Although the 
French explorers discovered many parts of the country and its 
rivers, no permanent settlement was made until 1608. In this 
year Samuel de Champlain, the most prominent figure in French 
exploration and early colonization, seeing the possibility of 
gaining great wealth from the fur trade and the discovery of 
gold, and hoping to convert the Indians to the Catholic faith, 
established a trading post at Quebec, which was the first per¬ 
manent French settlement in America. Champlain may justly 
be called the “Founder of Canada.” 

46. Champlain’s Explorations—His Encounter with the Iro¬ 
quois. Champlain explored our northeast coast, discovered 
Lake Champlain (1609) and Lakes Ontario and Huron. He 
made friends with the neighboring Huron and Algonquin 
Indians, who were the enemies of the Iroquois Nations located 
in New York and about Lake Erie. 

46 


THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 


47 


In 1G09 Champlain joined the Hurons and Algonquins in a 
battle against the Mohawks, one of the Iroquois tribes. The 
Mohawks were defeated, but the Iroquois became the enemies 
of the French, preventing them from occupying New York and 
the Hudson Valley. Because of this enmity, the French were 
obliged to extend their settlements westward instead of toward 
the south. 

47. The First Missionaries in Quebec. Three Franciscan 
priests and one lay brother came to Canada at the invitation 



QUEBEC TODAY 


of Champlain. The Jesuits joined the Franciscans in 1625, 
and the two orders labored for the conversion of the American 
Red Man. A little convent and chapel were erected at Quebec, 
and Holy Mass was for the first time celebrated on the banks of 
the St. Lawrence, June 25, 1615. This was the beginning of 
Catholicity in Canada. 

48. Exploration of the Mississippi. Count Frontenac, gov¬ 
ernor of New France, was anxious to explore the still unknown 
regions and to bring about peace with the Iroquois Indians. He 
sent Father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Joliet, a French 
explorer and fur trader, to search for a passage to the South Sea. 
Joliet started from Quebec in 1673 and, joined by Father 







48 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Marquette and several other Frenchmen at Mackinac, made 
his way through Green Bay, up the Fox River, and down the 
Wisconsin and the Mississippi as far as the Arkansas River. 
At the mouth of this river he and his companions became con¬ 
vinced that it would not carry them to the Pacific, and they 
retraced their course by way of the Illinois. After spending 
some time at the mission of St. Francis Xavier, Green Bay, 
Joliet returned to Quebec to report to Frontenac. 



TADOUSAC, CANADA. FATHER MARQUETTE LABORED HERE MANY YEARS 


Father Marquette preached the Gospel to the Miamis, who 
lived near the present site of Chicago. He named the Missis¬ 
sippi (so-called by the Indians) the River of the Immaculate 
Conception. 

49. Results of the Discovery of the Mississippi. Father 
Marquette, by his long voyage, revealed to the world the fact 
that the St. Lawrence communicates with the Gulf of Mexico 
by an almost uninterrupted chain of lakes and rivers. The 
whole Mississippi Valley, the richest, most fertile, and most 
easily reached part of North America, was open to France. 

50. Further Explorations. Robert La Salle, second only to 
Champlain among the French explorers, a sincere Catholic, set 
out from Canada to complete the work of Father Marquette 







THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 


49 


and Joliet. His aims were (a) to establish military and trade 
centers at various points, and (6) to plant a colony at the mouth 
of the Mississippi River. This would give the French control 
of the valuable fur trade of the interior. 

La Salle discovered the Ohio River in 1669, and established 
Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario two years later. From here 
he made a series of explorations which lasted nearly ten years. 
He built and launched on the Niagara River, the Griffin, which 



FRENCH EXPLORERS AND THE INDIANS 


was the first vessel to sail upon the waters of the Great Lakes. 
Accompanied by a small band including three Franciscan priests, 
he navigated Lakes Erie, St. Clair, Huron, and Michigan. From 
Lake Michigan he made his way to the Illinois River, where 
he established a fort near the present site of Peoria. 

In 1682 La Salle floated down the Mississippi to its mouth, 
planted the cross, and took possession of the great central valley 
of the continent for France, naming it Louisiana in honor of 
Louis XIV. Two years later he attempted to plant a colony 
at the mouth of the Mississippi, but failing to find the river, he 
landed on the shores of Texas. While trying to reach Canada 
to secure aid, he was killed by a member of his own company. 








50 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Father Hennepin, a Franciscan in La Salle’s company, dis¬ 
covered Niagara Falls. Exploring the northern Mississippi, he 
ascended as far as the present site of St. Paul, where he dis¬ 
covered and named the Falls of St. Anthony of Padua. 

To make good their claims to the Mississippi Valley, the 
French built a chain of forts from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, 





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MAP ILLUSTRATING EUROPEAN IDEA OF AMERICA IN 1548 


about sixty in all—among them Detroit, Duluth, and Vincennes. 
They also planted several settlements on the gulf—Biloxi, 
Mobile, and New Orleans. 

51. French Territory. France claimed Acadia, the St. Law¬ 
rence and Great Lakes basins, and the basin of the Mississippi 
River. The English also claimed the Mississippi Valley because 
of the discoveries of John Cabot. These rival claims became 
the cause of future wars. 















































THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 


51 


52. The Missionary Pioneers. The Catholic missionaries in 
French America, like those in Spanish America, were the 
pioneers of the cross, of exploration, of colonization, and of 
civilization. The Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries made 
their way to the Indian tribes of Canada, Maine, New York, 
Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa, never pausing 
in spite of snows and frost and other hardships of the wilderness 
till Catholicity had made the circuit of New France from the 



THE MISSIONARY’s BLESSING 


estuary of the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the Mississippi. 
Many of the early missionaries were cruelly murdered by the 
Indians. Their numbers were thinned by hardships, tortures, 
and agonizing deaths, but other great souls pressed forward to 
take up the good work of those who had gone before. 

Father Druillettes, S. J. (1646), the Apostle of the Hurons, 
completely won the hearts of the Abnakis. Father Rasle, S. J., 
with seven of his Abnaki chiefs, was killed (1724) at the mis¬ 
sion cross by a band of English and their allied pagan Mohawks. 
After the murder of Father Rasle, the Puritans would not allow 
a Catholic priest to live among the Abnakis. Nevertheless, 
these Indians remained firm in their faith. Every Sunday, 





52 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


before the priestless altars, the words of the Mass were said, 
vespers were chanted, and parents baptized their children. The 
Abnakis fought in the army of Washington years later and were 
then distinguished for their bravery. 

Father Marquette, S. J., was the first to labor among the 
Ottawas on the south shore of Lake Superior. He next preached 
to the Hurons of Mackinac. After his exploration of the Mis¬ 
sissippi, he founded a mission at Kaskaskia, Illinois. Conscious 
that death was near, he attempted to return to Mackinac, but 
died in the thirty-eighth year of his life (1675), on the shores 
of a small river of Michigan which now bears his name. He 
was buried near where he died, but twelve years later his body 
was exhumed and interred beneath the church at Mackinac. 

The Indians frequently came to 





pray at his tomb, and French 
mariners never failed to invoke 
Father Marquette when they 
were in peril on Lake Michigan. 

Father Jogues, S. J., entered 
the Jesuit novitiate at Paris at 
the age of seventeen and imme¬ 
diately after his ordination in 
1636, he was sent, at his own 
request, to the Huron missions 
in Canada. He was captured 
by the Mohawks who carried 
him to New York, where he 
was subjected to all the horrors of Indian cruelty. At length 
Father Jogues escaped, and from New York he was taken to 
France, where he was received with great honor. Later he 
returned to Canada, and once more entering New York was 
martyred by the Mohawks (1646). 

Father Breboeuf, S. J., and Father Lallemand, S. J., also 
labored among the Huron Indians. They were seized by the 
Iroquois and cruelly tortured. 


FATHER ISAAC JOGUES 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 


53 


Father Daniel, S. J., while laboring among the Hurons, was 
killed by the Iroquois. Father Menard, S. J., worked among the 
Ottawas. He was lost in the forests and never again heard 
from. Father Allouez, S. J., joined Fathers Marquette and 
Dablon in founding St. Mary’s, the oldest city in Michigan, 
and in spreading Catholicity in the vast regions that extend 
from Green Bay to Lake Superior. 

53. Noted Indian Converts. The hardships, tortures, and 
deaths of the early missionaries were not suffered in vain, for 
vast numbers from every tribe of In¬ 
dians were won over for Christ and 
civilization. Even the fierce Iroquois 
finally yielded to the influences of 
faith. Garacontie, their great chief, 
was baptized in the Cathedral of 
Quebec. Kryn, the powerful chief of 
the Mohawks, became a devout 
Catholic. 

Catherine Tekawitha, whose grave 
became an object of veneration for 
every race, was one of the most not¬ 
able Indian converts. Becoming an 
orphan at an early age, she lived with 
an uncle who was hostile toward the 
missionaries. She was secretly bap¬ 
tized, and gave her life entirely to 
God. She fled from her uncle’s anger 
to La Prairie, where, after leading a 
saintly life, she died with the holy 
names of Jesus and Mary upon her 
lips. She has been called the “Lily of the Mohawks.” Steps 
have recently been taken to canonize her. 

54. The Missionaries, the Pioneers of Discovery, Explora¬ 
tion, and Civilization. The missionaries were the first white 
men to sail on our great rivers and lakes, to admire our mighty 








54 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


falls and rapids, and to enter our majestic forests. A Jesuit 
discovered the salt springs of New York; a Franciscan drew 
attention to the oil springs of Pennsylvania; a Jesuit lay 
brother first worked the copper mines on Lake Superior; the 
first sugar cane was raised by Jesuits in New Orleans. The 
missionaries introduced the cultivation of wheat and the use 
of the plow. They founded the first schools and the first 
college (Quebec, 1635), and set up the first printing press in 
the North. 

The pioneer missionaries wrote descriptions of all they had 
seen and experienced and sent them to their superiors in France. 
This remarkable series of letters has been collected into seventy- 
five volumes called the “Jesuit Relations,” of which there is an 
English translation. 

55. First Nuns in New France. The hospital nuns from 
Dieppe opened a public hospital at Quebec. They received into 
it not only the sufferers among the emigrants, but the maimed, 
the sick, and the blind from the numerous tribes between the 
Kennebec and the St. Lawrence. The Ursuline nuns came to 
Quebec (1639) and established a convent into which they re¬ 
ceived the daughters of the wilderness for religious and secular 
instruction. From these small beginnings started the parochial 
and hospital systems so creditable to the Church in the United 
States. 

56. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in North America. 

The early Spanish explorers came with the banner of Mary; 
the name of the ship of Columbus was St. Mary (Santa Maria); 
the earliest shrines were reared under her invocation; bay and 
river and mountain received the hallowed name; the first city 
on the mainland that became a bishop’s see was St. Mary’s. 
Montreal Island saw a city rise with the name of Ville Marie. 
As the missionaries made their way westward, veneration of 
Mary marked their path till the great Mississippi, the River 
of the Immaculate Conception, bore them down toward those 


THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 


55 


Spanish realms where every officer swore to defend the Immacu¬ 
late Conception. 

Questions 

1. What explorers did France send to the New World? Of what importance 
were their explorations? 

2. What were the aims of Samuel de Champlain? Contrast with the aims 
of Sir Walter Raleigh. 

3. Did the French or the English win the friendship of the Mohawks? 
How did this affect the efforts of France and England to gain control of 
America? 

4. Describe the coming to Canada of the first missionaries. 

5. Trace on the map the journey of Father Marquette and Louis Joliet. 
Of what importance was it? You remember that a Spaniard first discovered 
the Mississippi River; what was his name? How much time passed between 
his discovery and the explorations? Why was the work of the Spaniards 
almost forgotten by the time the French began their work in these regions? 

6. Draw a map showing the great journey that La Salle made. Describe 
his journey. Of what importance was it? How would these French explor¬ 
ations affect the English? 

7. What was Father Hennepin’s work? 

8. Tell the story of the Missionary Pioneers. Who were some of the noted 
Indian converts? - 

9. Of what importance was the work of the nuns? Show on the map the 
city from which they came. 

Theme Topics 

1. Describe the death of Father Marquette. 

2. Imagine that you were present when La Salle took possession of all 
the land drained by the Mississippi River. Let several of the pupils dramatize 
the scene. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE DUTCH IN AMERICA 

57. Dutch Maritime Enterprise. While Spain, England, and 

France were exploring and colonizing America, Holland was 
occupied with trade and commerce. The Dutch, who were the 
merchants for all the neighboring countries, sent out fleets to the 
East Indies, which brought back the products of the tropics. 
Various trading companies had been organized for this purpose, 
the most important of which was the Dutch East India Com¬ 
pany (1602). This company sent its navigators not only 
around the Cape of Good Hope, but also across the Pacific to 
Australasia. 




Hudson’s ship, the half moon 

Henry Hudson, an Englishman in the service of Holland, was 
sent by the Dutch East India Company, in 1609, to search for 
a northern route around Europe. In a vessel called the Half 
Moon, he sailed from Amsterdam, and, after a voyage of four 
months, reached America. He entered the present New York 
harbor, where he believed that he had found the passage through 
America to the Pacific. He sailed up the river which now bears 
his name, as far as the site of Albany, making friends with the 
Iroquois. At almost the same time, Champlain, not a hundred 
miles away, made deadly enemies of these same Indians. 

56 







THE DUTCH IN AMERICA 


57 


Hudson, who had hoped to reach China, considered his voyage 
a failure and determined to attempt to go north of America 
to Asia. This time (1610), he passed through the entire length 
of what is now Hudson Strait and entered the broad waters 
of Hudson Bay, where his crew, frightened by the Arctic cold 
and ice, rose in mutiny. They set their great captain and his 
seven-year-old son adrift in an open boat on the vast waters 
of Hudson Bay, leaving them there to perish. 



-—— J/- - - - 

THE TRADING POST AT NEW AMSTERDAM 


58. Results of Hudson’s Voyage. When Hudson returned to 
Holland, he reported that the new country was rich in fur¬ 
bearing animals. As early as 1613-1614, Dutch traders came 
to America and established trading posts at the present sites 
of New York and Albany. The post on the site of New York 
was called New Amsterdam. As a result of these early exploia- 
tions, the Dutch claimed the land extending between the Dela¬ 
ware and Connecticut Rivers, which they called New Nether- 













































































58 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


land. Later the Dutch West India Company was founded for 
the purpose of trade and colonization in America. 

Questions 

1. What European country is the homeland of the Dutch? For what 
were the Dutch seeking when they came upon the Hudson River? Trace 
on the map the journey of the Half Moon. What advantage did the Dutch 
gain by winning the friendship of the Iroquois? 

2. Show on the map the land claimed in North America because of the 
explorations of Henry Hudson. 

3. What was the purpose of the Dutch West India Company? What 
similar companies had been formed previously? 

Theme Topics 

1. A conversation between a Dutch fur trader and an Indian. 

2. An imaginary account of a conversation between Hudson and his son 
in the open boat. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


1000-1492 

1002. Leif Ericson discovers America and establishes a Norse 
colony in Yinland. 

1095. The Crusades begin. 

1295. Marco Polo describes his travels in the East. 

1435. Columbus is born. 

1440. Printing is invented by Gutenberg at Strassburg. 

1487. Bartholomew Diaz discovers the Cape of Good Hope. 

1492-1519 

Ferdinand and Isabella are King and Queen of Spain. 

Henry VII, King of England. (Henry VIII, 1509.) 

All civilized Europe is Catholic. 

1492. (Aug. 3) Columbus sails from Spain. 

1492. (Oct. 12) Columbus discovers America. 

1493. Columbus makes a second voyage—discovers Jamaica 
and Porto Rico, and establishes a Spanish colony at 
Isabella, Haiti. 

1493. Father Juan Perez offers the first Holy Sacrifice of the 
Mass in America at Isabella, Haiti. 

1493. Pope Alexander VI establishes the line of Demarcation. 

1494. The first Catholic church is founded at Isabella, Haiti. 

1497. Cabot discovers North America. 

1497. Vasco da Gama doubles the Cape of Good Hope and 
finds a new route to India. 

1498. Columbus makes his third voyage—discovers Trinidad 
Island and the continent of South America. 

1498. Cabot makes his second voyage and explores part of the 
North American coast. 


59 


* 

A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

Cabral discovers Brazil and claims it for Portugal. 
Americus Vespucius explores the northeastern coast of 
South America. 

Las Casas comes to America. 

Ponce de Leon founds San Juan, Porto Rico. 

Ponce de Leon discovers and claims the peninsula of 
Florida for Spain. 

Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean and claims it and the 
land bordering on it for Spain. 

1519-1558 

Emperor Charles V, ruler of Germany, Austria, Spain, and Spanish 
America. 

King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, and Queen Mary reign in England. 

King Francis I and Henry II rule in France. 

Luther apostatizes. Henry VIII rejects the authority of the pope 
and establishes a state church. Calvin founds Calvinism. Many 
people leave the Roman Catholic Church and become Protestants. 

1519. Cortez conquers Mexico. 

1519-1522. Magellan circumnavigates the globe. 

1524. Verrazano coasts the American shore from Cape Fear to 
Nova Scotia and claims it for France. 

1528. Narvaez leads an unsuccessful expedition to conquer 
Florida. Bishop Juarez and his companions perish. 

1528-1536. De Vaca and his companions cross the continent. 

1534-1535. Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence River. 

1536. First printing press in the New World is set up. 

1539. Friar Marcos discovers the Zuni pueblos. 

1540. Coronado explores the territory from the Gulf of Cali¬ 
fornia to the present state of Kansas. 

1541. De Soto discovers the Mississippi River. 

1549. Missionaries receive the crown of martyrdom in Florida 
—the first martyrs within the limits of the present 
United States. 


60 

1500. 

1500. 

1502. 

1511. 

1513. 

1513. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


61 


1558-1607 

Queen Elizabeth and James I reign in England. 

Francis II, Charles IX, Henry III, and Henry IV reign in France. 

Philip II and Philip III reign in Spain. 

The principal countries of Europe are involved in religious and political 
wars. 

1565. Menendez founds St. Augustine, the oldest city in the 
United States proper. 

1577-1580. Sir Francis Drake circumnavigates the globe. 

1583. Sir Humphrey Gilbert attempts to plant a colony in 
America, but fails and is shipwrecked on his homeward 
voyage. 

1584-1587. Sir Walter Raleigh sends three expeditions to the 
New World; he gives glowing accounts of the country 
and its people. 

1602. Gosnold shortens the route across the Atlantic by more 
than 1500 miles. 

1603. Champlain explores the shores of Nova Scotia. 

1605. Santa Fe, New Mexico, the second oldest city in the 
United States proper, is founded. 

1606. The London and Plymouth Companies are chartered. 


PERIOD OF COLONIZATION 


CHAPTER VII 

THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 

THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA 

59. The Founding of Jamestown. The first permanent English 
colony in America was founded in 1607, at Jamestown, Virginia, 
by an expedition sent out by the London Company. The settlers, 
one hundred five men, were, for the most part, idle and law¬ 
less. Some of them were “gentlemen” whose aim was to gather 
wealth in the New World and then to return to England. The 
others 'were tradesmen and mechanics. There were no women in 
the colony, for these men did not come to make homes, but to 
search for gold. 

The settlers reached Virginia in May, landing about thirty 
miles above the mouth of the James River. As a protection 
against the Indians, they immediately built a fort, and for homes 
they built log cabins. The conditions surrounding the colony 
were unfavorable—the land was low and swampy; the water was 
bad; the heat was intense; and the Indians were hostile. There 
was no great leader, and the plan under which the colony was 
founded almost led to its ruin. This plan provided that all the 
men were to work together and put their products into a common 
storehouse, out of which the needs of each one were supplied. 
Under this system the idle could draw from the common store¬ 
house without labor, while the industrious knew that by their 
toil they must feed the idle. 

The colony suffered greatly; the provisions gave out, many of 
the men became sick of fever, and within four months half 

62 


THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 


63 


of the colony had died. Those remaining became discouraged 
and homesick. 

60. John Smith Saves the Colony—His Explorations. Direc¬ 
tion of the affairs of the colony gradually fell into the hands 
of John Smith, a bold and determined man. Smith compelled 
the men to work, saying, “He who will not labor shall not 
eat.” He obtained food from the Indians for the starving 
settlers and introduced the cultivation of corn. He drilled the 
men, repaired the forts, and for 
two years was the mainstay of 
the Jamestown colony, which 
he saved from ruin. 

While governor of Virginia, 

Smith made a series of explora¬ 
tions up Chesapeake Bay and 
the rivers flowing into it, hoping 
to find a passage to the Pacific. 

In the course of his explorations, 

Smith was captured by the 
Indians, and is said to have 
escaped death by means of his quick wit and through the help of 
the Indian princess Pocahontas. This princess, the daughter of 
the great Indian chief Powhatan, often visited Jamestown and 
became the loyal friend of the colony. 

Later she and John Rolfe, a Virginia planter, were married. 
Rolfe took Pocahontas with him to England, where she was 
kindly welcomed, being called “Lady Rebecca.” When she 
was about to return to the New World, she died, leaving an only 
son, Thomas, from whom descended the famous orator and 
statesman, John Randolph, and other leading Virginians. 

61. The Starving Time. Two years after the founding of 
Jamestown, another band of nearly five hundred settlers came 
to Virginia. It was composed chiefly of men who had been 
prisoners in English jails and ruffians of the streets. Because of 
an injury, Smith went back to England. The Indians at once 



JAMESTOWN AND VICINITY 



64 


HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES 


attacked and plundered the colony. Crime, famine, and disease 
hastened the work of destruction, so that at the end of the dread¬ 
ful winter (1609-1610), known as “the starving time/’ scarcely 
sixty of the colony of nearly five hundred were left alive. Lord 
Delaware, the newly appointed governor, came to Jamestown 



CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH’S MAP OF VIRGINIA 


(June, 1610) just in time to prevent the few remaining men 
trom setting sail for England. Ill health, however, obliged him 
to leave Jamestown the following March. 

62. Common Storehouse Abolished—Cultivation of Tobacco. 
Sir Thomas Dale, who succeeded Lord Delaware in 1611, was an 
able ruler. During the course of the next five years he intro¬ 
duced order and new energy into the affairs of the colony by 
abolishing the common storehouse. Now even the indolent 

















THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 


65 


began to think it worth while to work. The men who stole 
and defied the law were hanged without mercy. Later, each 
settler was permitted to buy one hundred acres of land, and each 
farmer was obliged to give two and one-half bushels of corn to the 
public granary. 

Raleigh had introduced tobacco into England, and its use soon 
spread so that a great demand for it arose in Europe. The people 
of Virginia, finding the soil well adapted to its cultivation, began 
to raise it in large quantities, and the future of Virginia was 
assured. 

63. Indentured Servants—Negro Slaves. To satisfy the 
great demand for cheap labor, convicts and criminals from the 
overcrowded prisons in England, kidnapped children, and Eng¬ 
lish people who had fallen into debt, were sold to Virginia. These 
“ Indentured Servants” were bound out to labor for a term of 
years (five to seven and upwards), after which they were set free. 

In 1619 the captain of a Dutch vessel sold twenty negroes to 
the colonists. As their labor proved profitable in the cultivation 
of tobacco, many more were imported. Thus were sown the 
seeds of slavery which continued until the period of the 
great Civil War. 

64. First Representative Assembly in America. Up to this 
time the affairs of the colony had been under the control of a 
governor appointed by the London Company. The people had 
been given no share in the government. Now, however, the 
settlers asked for a voice in the making of their laws. A new 
governor was appointed, and under his direction a representative 
assembly was held in 1619. This assembly was composed of two 
representatives from each of the eleven districts. Since these 
districts were known as boroughs, the assembly was called the 
“ House of Burgesses.” The government was now composed of a 
governor, a council, and the House of Burgesses, being modeled 
after the English government, which consists of the King, House 
of Lords, and House of Commons. This three-fold division 
furnished a basis for our present state and national governments. 


66 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


65. Family Ties. About one hundred young women of good 
reputation were persuaded by the London Company to go to 
Virginia, where they were sold to the planters as wives at the 
cost of their passage (one hundred fifty pounds of tobacco). 
Family life now found a place in Virginia, and the people became 
prosperous and contented. 



THE ARRIVAL OF THE WOMEN IN VIRGINIA 


66. Virginia Becomes a Royal Colony. In 1622 a war occurred 
between the colonists and the Indians, who were led by the 
brother of Powhatan, the Indian chief. This war, together with 
famine and sickness, reduced the number of colonists from four 
thousand to eight hundred ninety-four. King James I charged the 
London Company with failure to protect its colonists. He with¬ 
drew the charter, and Virginia became a royal colony, remaining 
so until the Revolution. The House of Burgesses, however, con¬ 
tinued to exist throughout the colonial period. 

67. A Better Class of People. In 1625 Charles I succeeded his 
father, James I, as King of England. During his reign a great 










































THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 


67 


civil and religious-war was waged between the King and Parlia¬ 
ment. King Charles was defeated and beheaded (1649) by the 
Puritans or “Roundheads,” as the supporters of Parliament were 
called. Cromwell, the leader of the Puritans, ruled England dur¬ 
ing the next eleven years, under a form of government known as 
the Commonwealth. The Cavaliers, who were the friends and 
supporters of King Charles, were persecuted during the reign of 
Cromwell, and many of them fled to Virginia, where they 
became planters of great influence, giving to the colony an aris¬ 
tocratic character. 

During this same period, many Catholics of Ireland, perse¬ 
cuted for patriotism and religion, were sold into forced service to 
the American planters. A large number of poor but respectable 
persons sold themselves in order to secure a new start in life. 

68. The Navigation Acts. During the Commonwealth, Parlia¬ 
ment passed the Navigation Acts, which required the people of 
Virginia to send their tobacco and other exports to England in 
English ships. By these laws the revenue of England was 
greatly increased, but the trade of Virginia was nearly ruined. 
As a result, the colonists were discouraged and embittered against 
the mother country. 

69. Berkeley’s Hard Rule—Bacon’s Rebellion. In 1660 the 
Commonwealth of England was overthrown, and Charles II 
became King. Sir William Berkeley, for the second time, was 
made governor of Virginia. He was a man of ability, and a 
strong upholder of the King, but he was narrow-minded, dis¬ 
honest, and oppressive. He did not believe in popular govern¬ 
ment, and was hostile to education. 

When an Indian war broke out on the borders of Maryland, 
Berkeley refused to defend the colony for fear that his fur trade 
with the natives might suffer. Thereupon, Nathaniel Bacon, a 
young lawyer, raised a force and defeated the enemy. Because of 
this action, the governor pronounced him a traitor. The people, 
however, so disliked Berkeley and the aristocratic party, that 
they armed themselves under Bacon, drove the governor out of 


68 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Jamestown, and burned the village (1676). In the midst of his 
success Bacon died, and Berkeley returned to Virginia. He put 
to death twenty of Bacon’s followers and continued to rule the 
colony in his despotic manner, until the King,disgusted with such 
tyranny, recalled him. 

70. Religion—Education—Manners and Customs. The colo¬ 
nists of Virginia belonged to the Church of England, and 
no one could settle in Virginia unless he acknowledged the 



COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MAEY 


King as head of the church. This shut out many Protestants as 
well as Catholics from the colony, but the laws against the latter 
were especially severe. No Catholic could vote, hold office, or be 
heard in a court of justice. No priest was allowed in the colony. 

Colonial Virginia was slow in providing educational advan¬ 
tages. Since the government was narrow in its religious prin¬ 
ciples, it did not favor education. Moreover, the widespread 
population made it impossible to have schools located at con¬ 
venient distances. Free schools, therefore, were not established 
until 1688. The first college in the colony was the College of 
William and Mary, founded at Williamsburg (1693). 







































THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 69 

The Virginians were social, hospitable, and fond of amuse¬ 
ments, such as fishing, horse racing, fox hunting, and other out¬ 
door sports. The better classes resided in large mansions, while 
their slaves lived apart in small cabins. There were no large 
towns: the people lived on plantations where they raised tobacco, 
corn, and sweet potatoes. During the one hundred years between 
Bacon’s Rebellion and the Revolution, Virginia became the most 
populous and the richest of the English colonies. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND 

71. The Maryland Grant—First Settlement. Unlike Virginia, 
which was settled by a company, Maryland was founded and 
practically owned by a lord proprietor. George Calvert, the first 
Lord Baltimore, a prominent Roman Catholic, desired to found a 
colony in America for the persecuted Catholics of England. He 
obtained from Charles I a grant of the unoccupied land north of 
the Potomac. Before his patent had been signed, he died, and 
his rights descended to his son, the second Lord Baltimore. 

The Catholics of England, who had been cruelly persecuted 
since Protestantism had been introduced, gladly followed the 
Calverts, who themselves, in the face of intolerant laws, had 
become conscientious Roman Catholics, at the risk of losing 
station, honors, and office. 

The little band of emigrants to Maryland took with them 
their families, servants, a considerable number of laborers, and 
four Jesuits, numbering in all about three hundred. On the 
festival of the Annunciation, they landed on the northern banks 
of the Potomac. Within an Indian wigwam, Father White 
celebrated Holy Mass in honor of the day, on the very soil 
where Spanish Jesuits, half a century before, had offered the 
same holy sacrifice for the first time in that wild region. A 
large cross was erected, and St. Mary’s was then solemnly 
founded (1634) near the site of the present city of Washing¬ 
ton, D. C. 


70 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


At the request of Charles I, the new colony received the name 
Maryland in honor of his Queen, Henrietta Maria, the Catholic 
daughter of Henry IV of France. The newly founded town was 
called St. Mary’s in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The charter granted Lord 
Baltimore had been prepared 
by his own hand and was the 
most liberal ever given any 
British subject. It granted 
religious freedom and enabled 
the colonists to have a large 
share in their government. 
The proprietor was an almost 
independent ruler; he could 
coin money, grant titles of 
nobility, create courts, ap¬ 
point judges, pardon crim¬ 
inals, and call together an 
assembly of representatives. 
His office was hereditary; that 
is, it was handed down from 
father to son. Acts passed by 
the Assembly needed only his 
signature, not that of the 
king, to become laws. Although his powers were great, he 
could not make laws and collect taxes without the consent of 
the people. Hence, Maryland had its assemblies from 1639. 
In order to show his allegiance to the king, the proprietor was 
required each year to pay two Indian arrows and one-fifth of 
all the gold and silver that might be found in the province. 

The settlers of St. Mary’s, unlike those of Jamestown, imme¬ 
diately began to build and plant. A crop of corn was gathered 
the first autumn; the Indians taught the colonists how to prepare 
it for food, and how to trap game. Before winter, all were com¬ 
fortably sheltered. 



GEORGE CALVERT 












THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 


71 


72. Religious Toleration—Toleration Act. The distinctive 
feature of the Maryland colony under the Calverts was religious 
toleration. St. Mary’s was the refuge of Catholics persecuted in 
England, and of Protestants who fled from religious intolerance 
in the other colonies. Throughout Maryland religion had its 
peaceful sway, in the wigwam of the Indian as well as in the town 
of St. Mary’s. 

After the execution of Charles I, and the triumph of the Puri¬ 
tan party in England, the Maryland colonists, fearing religious 
persecution, determined to place religious freedom on as secure a 
basis as possible. Accordingly the Maryland Assembly passed 
(1649) the celebrated Toleration Act, which provided that all 
Christian denominations should be protected in Maryland. This 
was the first act of the kind in the United States and it won for 
the colony the name “Land of the Sanctuary.” 

In 1654, when the Puritans obtained a majority in the Mary¬ 
land Assembly, they repealed the Toleration Act, excluded 
Catholics from the Assembly, refused them the protection of the 
law, and forbade the practice of their worship. Catholics did not 
recover their rights until after the Revolution. 

73. The Mason and Dixon’s Line. After the settlement of 
Pennsylvania, a dispute arose between Maryland and Pennsyl¬ 
vania concerning the boundary between these two colonies. This 
trouble was finally settled by two surveyors, Mason and Dixon, 
who established the present boundary line which separates 
Maryland and Delaware and Pennsylvania. This Mason and 
Dixon’s line became famous later in the history of our country 
as part of the dividing line between the free states and the slave 
states. 

74. Religion—Customs—Education. The Maryland people 
were very much like the Virginians except in religious matters. 
They were social and hospitable; sought amusements in outdoor 
sports; had few towns, lived on broad plantations, and raised 
tobacco as a staple crop. At an early date they cultivated Indian 
corn and the sweet potato, and gathered oysters and shot wild 


72 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ducks in the waters of the bay. Negro slaves performed the work 
on the plantations. They lived apart in detached huts, although, 
in Catholic families, their religious training was the same as that 
of members of the household. 

The Catholics of Maryland brought with them their learned 
Jesuit teachers, who instructed their children, as well as those 
of the red man, in the essentials of religious and secular learning. 
From the repeal of the Toleration Act until the Revolution, 
however, the instruction of Catholic youth by Catholic teachers 



EARLY ANNAPOLIS 


was prohibited. The Jesuits, nevertheless, secretly maintained 
two schools for boys. There were very few schools of any kind 
in Maryland before the Revolution. The earliest was King 
William’s School, now St. John’s College, which was established 
in 1694 at Annapolis. 

75. Two Notable Facts. Among the thirteen original col¬ 
onies Maryland was the first proprietary colony, and the first 
colony to grant religious freedom. 


































































THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 


73 


THE SETTLEMENT OF THE CAROLINAS 

76. North Carolina Settled. In 1663 King Charles II gave to 
eight of his favorites the land extending from Virginia to Florida 
and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The northern part 
of the territory (North Carolina) was first settled in 1653 at 
Albemarle Sound by immigrants from Virginia. Later, Quakers 
and Puritans from other colonies found refuge here. John Locke, 
a great English philosopher, drew up a plan of government for 
this colony, which he called the Grand Model. It divided the 
whole population into feudal classes from noblemen down to 
serfs who were bound to the land. Government was to be 
largely in the hands of the nobility. The only good feature 
of the Grand Model was that it guaranteed religious liberty 
to all. The Church of England, however, was established by 
law. 

This plan of government proved a failure, for the people were 
determined to govern themselves. The proprietors finally (1729) 
sold their rights to the King, who divided the territory into two 
parts, North and South Carolina, each becoming a royal colony. 
After 1700, large numbers of French, Germans, Irish, Scotch, and 
Swiss, emigrated to the colony. When the Revolution began, 
North Carolina was the fourth colony in population. Its people 
were widely scattered along the coast or in the roadless wilds, 
raising grain and live stock or cutting timber, making tar and 
turpentine, hunting bear, and trapping beaver. Cut off from the 
rest of the world, happy and contented, they formed a sturdy 
colony, tolerant in religious matters, and marked by a spirit of 
independence. They were not free, however, from trouble with 
the Indians. In 1711 the Tuscaroras attacked and massacred 
hundreds of colonists. After two years of warfare the savages 
were defeated. Early North Carolina had no towns, and in 
power and importance could not compare with her northern 
sister colonies. 


74 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


THE FOUNDING OF SOUTH CAROLINA 

77. Industrial Growth. South Carolina was first settled (1670) 
on the Ashley River by English immigrants under the leadership 
of William Sayle and Joseph West. This settlement known 

as the Carteret Colony, was 
removed after a few years 
(1680) to a better situation at 
the junction of the Ashley 
and Cooper Rivers, where the 
city of Charleston was 
founded. 

The people soon found that 
the soil and the climate were 
suitable for the growing of all 
the plants of the Old World. 
Before long, plantations of 
pears, olives, and mulberry 
trees extended along the 
Cooper and Santee Rivers. 
Rice was introduced from Madagascar; indigo flourished, and 
later cotton became a most important crop. South Carolina 
traded extensively with the Indians in furs, and had a large 
export trade to the northern colonies and the West Indies in 
forest products—timber, pitch, and turpentine. The result of 
the profitable commerce in rice and indigo caused South Car¬ 
olina to grow rapidly in both population and wealth, and 
Charleston soon became the largest city of the South. Immi¬ 
grants from Holland, Germany, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and 
France came to Carolina in such numbers that in Charleston alone 
there were sixteen thousand at one time. Since many of these 
immigrants brought with them mechanical skill and business 
ability, their influence greatly promoted the industrial prosperity 
of South Carolina. 




THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 


75 


78. Slave Labor Profitable—Piracy. Negro slaves from 
Barbadoes were brought to the Carteret colony within a year 
after its founding (16? 1). The heat of the summer made labor 
in the malarial atmosphere of the forest and the rice swamps fatal 
to the white man. For this reason, negroes were imported to 
South Carolina in greater numbers than to any other colony. 

At the time when the Carolinas were being founded the sea 
in the vicinity of the West Indies was made unsafe by hundreds 
of pirates who had set up their 
strongholds on some of the 
islands and the neighbor¬ 
ing American coast. These 
pirates would dart forth from 
their strongholds and capture 
merchant ships that passed. 

Robert Thatch, commonly 
called Blackbeard, was per¬ 
haps the most noted of these 
pirates. On one occasion he 
even obliged the governor of 
Charleston to pay a ransom 
for some captured passengers. 

At first the people of Carolina 
engaged in trade with the pirates, but when the latter began to 
capture ships trading with Charleston, the Carolina people 
joined in the war against them; and finally the pirates were 
defeated and their power broken (1730). 

79. Manners—Customs. The Carolina people were charac¬ 
terized by genial manners, and were thrifty and industrious. 
Slave labor was employed exclusively, while the work on the rice 
and indigo plantations was directed by overseers. The rich 
planters, as a rule, resided in comfortable and handsome houses. 
Life in Charleston, with its theaters, balls, and dinner parties, 
was gay, but little attention was paid to education. 






76 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA 


80. James E. Oglethorpe—Georgia Founded. James E. 
Oglethorpe was a man prominent in the public life of England. 
As a member of Parliament, he became acquainted with the 
abuses of the English prisons for debtors. Moved by the misery 

of the unfortunate prisoners, 
he determined to found a col¬ 
ony in America where the 
most deserving of them could 
begin life anew. In 1732 he 
obtained from George II a 
grant of the country between 
the Savannah and Altamaha 
Rivers as far westward as the 
Pacific. The next year he 
planted a colony at Savannah. 
The new colony was named 
Georgia for George II of Eng¬ 
land, and the settlement took 
its name from that of the river 
near which the little cabins of 
the settlers were first built. Georgia, the last of the famous 
thirteen original colonies in order of foundation, was settled 
the year after the birth of George Washington. 

81. Object—Progress. Oglethorpe's object in planting Georgia 
was threefold: to found a military barrier between the Carolinas 
and the troublesome Spaniards in Florida; to offer a refuge to 
persecuted Protestants in Europe; and to transfer the inmates of 
English debtor prisons to America, where they might make a 
new start in life. 

The progress of the settlement was hampered from the very 
beginning by certain regulations which distinguished Georgia 
from all her sister colonies. The government was exclusively 
in the hands of the trustees, and each settler was given but 



















THE SOUTHERN GROUP OF COLONIES 


77 


a limited tract of land, which had to descend to a male heir. 
Moreover, the colonists complained because the importation of 
intoxicating liquors was forbidden, thus cutting off a promising 
commerce with the West Indies; and because slavery was pro¬ 
hibited. 

Then, too, the discharged English prisoners were poor material 
for the founding of a colony. Oglethorpe’s plans were on the 
point of being wrecked, when a number of industrious German 
Protestants, a colony of Swiss and Moravians, and a hardy 
band of thrifty Scotch mountaineers emigrated to Georgia and 
made possible the final success of the settlement. 

The Georgians bought their land from the Indians, with whom 
they later made alliances. The savages were pleased with the 
noble and commanding appearance of Oglethorpe and his frank, 
kind manner of dealing with them, and trusted in his promises. 
A profitable trade was established with the tribes as far west as 
the Mississippi. Rice was the main staple crop. The only town 
was the village of Savannah, from which Indian trails led to the 

widely-spread plantations and trading posts. 

* s 

Questions 

1. When did the London Company make its first permanent settlement? 
Where? What classes of men made up the group of settlers? What kind of 
work was an “English gentleman” of the seventeenth century prepared to do? 
Would he succeed in making his living in the wilderness? Did many men 
in the group know how to farm? How did this affect their chances for success? 

2. How did John Smith save the colony from ruin? What did Sir Thomas 
Dale accomplish? 

3. How was Virginia governed in the beginning? How was the government 
of the colony changed later? 

4. Why was Governor Berkeley unpopular? Why did Bacon and his 
followers revolt? 

5. State a fact about education in the colony. About religion. Why 
did the Virginians devote much time to fishing, racing, hunting, and other 
sports? 

6. Why did Lord Baltimore found his colony? When? Where? What was 
his view of religious toleration? Why was Maryland known as the Land 
of the Sanctuary? 

7. What was Mason and Dixon’s Line? Trace it on the map. 


78 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


8. Contrast Maryland and Virginia in religion. In customs. In education. 

9. Who first settled North Carolina? What was the Grand Model? Why 
was it a failure? 

10. By whom was South Carolina founded? When? What part did slavery 
play in the colony? Describe the life of the people of Charleston. 

11. Who founded Georgia? When? For what purpose? What progress 
did it make? 

Theme Topics 

1. Describe the coming of the women to Virginia. (See picture on page 66.) 

2. King Charles I and Lord Baltimore discuss the founding of a Catholic 
colony in America. Let two pupils give this conversation as they imagine it. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE MIDDLE GROUP OF COLONIES 
THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK 

' *' .-A 

82. New York Settled. The Dutch had claimed the land be¬ 
tween the Delaware and Connecticut Rivers by right of the 
exploration of Henry Hudson. They made good this claim by 
establishing trading posts (1613-1614), one near the present site 
of Albany, and one on Manhattan Island. These settlements 
were made, however, without any serious attempt at colonization. 
The first permanent settlements were established in 1623, on 
Manhattan Island and at Fort Orange (Albany), by some Dutch 
families sent out by the Dutch West India Company. The object 
of Dutch colonization was trade. 

In 1626 the West India Company sent Peter Minuit with a 
band of settlers to reenforce the small trading post which had 
been established on Manhattan Island. Minuit bought the 
island from the Indians for about twenty-four dollars’ worth of 
trinkets, and founded New Amsterdam, now New York City. 

83. The Patroon System. The colony at first made little 
progress. To attract settlers to the new colony, the West India 
Company established (1629) the “ patroon system.” This gave 
to any member of the company who within four years brought 
into the colony fifty adult settlers an extensive grant of land. 
The land was to be fairly bought from the Indians, and the 
patroon, or owner, was to be an absolute ruler. He was required 
to pay the emigrant’s passage from Holland, to stock a farm with 
animals and implements, and to provide a minister of the gospel 
and a schoolmaster. In return the emigrant practically bound 
himself to the patroon for a period of ten years. The patroon 
system was not very successful, and was modified later. 

79 


80 


A HISTORY OF TIIE UNITED STATES 


84. The Dutch and the Indians. From the time of Hudson's 
voyage, friendly relations existed between the Dutch and the 

powerful Iroquois Indians. Consequently the 
Dutch traders secured, through the hands of 
the friendly Iroquois, great quantities of furs 
from other Indian tribes, in return for blank¬ 
ets, utensils, firearms, gin, and rum. 

85. The Colony under Dutch Rule. New 
Netherland was ruled (1626-1664) by four 
Dutch governors—Peter Minuit, the founder 
of New Amsterdam, Wouter Van Twiller, 
William Kieft, and Peter Stuyvesant. This 
last and most able of the four Dutch gover¬ 
nors was known as “ Peter the Headstrong,” 
on account of his stubbornness, and “Old 
Silverleg,'' because he had a wooden leg 
bound with bands of silver. He was a strong- 
defender of the colony, but he opposed all 
ideas of self-government. Under Dutch rule 
the people had no voice in the making of their 
laws nor in the levying of taxes. 

86. England Lays Claim to New Netherland. After allowing 
the Dutch to occupy for half a century the territory they had 
discovered, England, becoming jealous of the Dutch trade, and 
wishing to have an unbroken line of colonies along the Atlantic 
coast, asserted her claims to New Netherland through Cabot's 
voyages. Accordingly Charles II granted this land to his brother, 
the Duke of York. An English fleet anchored in the harbor of 
New York (1664), ready to attack the Dutch. Since Governor 
Stuyvesant had only a very small force and the colonists were 
not unwilling to exchange the hard Dutch rule for a new govern¬ 
ment under the English, they surrendered New Amsterdam and 
with it the whole of New Netherland without resistance. These 
two regions were now called New York, and Fort Orange was 
named Albany, in honor of the proprietor, who was Duke of 
York and Albany. In the course of a war between England 



DUTCH MAIDEN 





THE MIDDLE GROUP OF COLONIES 


81 


and Holland, a Dutch fleet recaptured New York in 1673. It 
was, however, returned to the English by treaty in the following 
year. 

87. The Colony under English Rule—Leisler’s Rebellion. 

For about twenty years the colonists of New York were not given 
as much political freedom as the New Englanders enjoyed. 
In 1681, while Andros was governor, popular feeling in favor of 
a change grew so strong that the Duke of York promised an 
assembly. Two years later, when Thomas Dongan, a Catholic 
of great ability and 
liberal views, was gov¬ 
ernor, the first assem¬ 
bly was elected by 
the people at his call. 

It adopted a declara¬ 
tion of rights called 
the “Charter of Lib¬ 
erties,” by which the 
people of New York 
were to have the same 
rights of representa¬ 
tive government as 
the people of the other colonies, and freedom of worship. 

But before the Duke of York could take any action in regard 
to it, he succeeded to the throne of England under the title of 
James II, and New York became a royal province. Though 
King James had become a Catholic, and in his private life was 
a credit to the Church, he nevertheless made some serious 
blunders in government owing to the fact that he believed in 
absolute rule, tie refused to sign the Charter of Liberties, and, 
removing Dongan, sent back Andros to govern the whole of 
New England, as well as New York and New Jersey. New 
York was thus deprived of its long-desired assembly. 

Andros was very tyrannical in his rule, and the people were 
finally brought to revolt. When the Revolution of 1688 occurred 
by which James II was deposed from the throne, the New York 



DUTCH SETTLORS 






















82 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


colonists, headed by Jacob Leisler, established a government of 
their own. William III, the new King, sent over a governor 
appointed by himself, who tried Leisler for treason and had him 
executed. The assembly was, however, restored, and from this 
time to the Revolutionary War, New York retained its repre¬ 
sentative government. 

88. Religion—Education—Manners and Customs. Under 
Dutch rule the established religion was that of the Dutch Re- 



A DUTCH TAVERN 


formed Church and there was little persecution. Under English 
rule the Episcopalian religion prevailed, and, except during 
Dongan’s, administration, the Catholic faith was forbidden. 
Catholics w T ere denied the right of voting, and priests were 
ordered to leave the colony. In spite of this, the first Holy Mass 
in New York was celebrated in 1665 by Father Dablon on the 
site of the present city of Syracuse. 


























































THE MIDDLE GROUP OF COLONIES 


83 


Little progress was made for a long time in education, although 
during Dongan’s administration a Catholic College was opened 
in New York City. 

The Dutch were thrifty, honest, and hospitable. Their chief 
occupations were fur trading and farming. The dress and furni¬ 
ture of the Dutch were extremely simple. In their homes they 
used no carpets, but had white sanded floors. They breakfasted 
at dawn, dined at eleven, and retired at sunset. Their houses, 


FOOT OF WALL STREET— 1673 



built of wood, with gable ends of colored brick from Holland, had 
many windows and doors. Country places were called “Bower¬ 
ies.” Instead of clocks and watches, the Dutch had hour glasses 
and sun-dials. Sleighing, skating, and coasting were first intro¬ 
duced into the colonies by them. 

Though Holland had failed as a nation in colonizing America, 
the colonial Dutch settlers brought an influence for good to the 
part of the country settled by them. The Dutch maintained 
their simple language and customs for two hundred years. Not 
until some time after the Revolutionary War did they begin 
to speak English. 













































































84 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW JERSEY 

89. Land Grant and First Settlement. New Jersey, originally 
included in the territory claimed by the Dutch, was early occu¬ 
pied by both the Dutch and the Swedes. The Swedish forts were 
soon conquered by the Dutch. After the conquest of New 
Netherland (1664), the Duke of York gave the southern part, 
lying between the Delaware River and the ocean, to two of his 
favorites—Lords Berkeley and Carteret—and called it New 
Jersey in honor of Sir George Carteret, who had distinguished 
himself as governor of the Island of Jersey in the English Channel. 
The first permanent English settlement was made in 1665 at 
Elizabethtown. 

90. East and West Jersey—Government. In 1674 the prov¬ 
ince was finally divided into East and West Jersey and was for 
many years known as “The Jerseys.” The Jerseys eventually 
passed into the hands of a party of Quakers, among whom was 
William Penn. There was so much confusion over land titles 
that the proprietors sold their claims to Queen Anne, who united 
the Jerseys under the authority of the governor of New York. 
In 1738 New Jersey was made a royal province, which it con¬ 
tinued to be until the Revolution. Colonial New Jersey had its 
own assembly and was tolerant in religious matters. New Jersey, 
a land of farmers, found markets for its agricultural products in 
Philadelphia and New York. 

Princeton, the fourth college founded in America, was opened 
in 1746, at Newark. It was transferred (1752) to Princeton, 
where it is still located. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF DELAWARE 

91. First Settlement—Government. The first permanent 
settlement in Delaware was made in 1638 near the present site of 
Wilmington by a band of about fifty Swedes. They built a fort, 
which they named Christina in honor of the young Queen of 
Sweden. 


THE MIDDLE GROUP OF COLONIES 


85 


The Dutch, who claimed this territory, looked upon the Swedes 
as intruders. Peter Stuyvesant conquered the Swedish settle¬ 
ments in 1655, New Sweden being added to New Netherland. 
The Dutch held New Sweden until it was surrendered to the Eng¬ 
lish as part of New York. It was sold in 1682 to William Penn, 
who desired an outlet to the sea for his colony, Pennsylvania. 
Penn called the province “The Three Lower Counties on the 
Delaware.” 

This colony at first sent its representatives to the Pennsylvania 
assembly, but was later allowed a separate legislature by William 
Penn. When the Revolution broke out, the Three Lower Coun¬ 
ties declared themselves a free and independent state, taking the 
name of Delaware. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA 

92. The Pennsylvania Grant. William Penn, the most prom¬ 
inent of the Quakers, obtained from the King, Charles II (1681), 
a grant of forty thousand square miles of territory west of the 
Delaware, where he founded a Quaker colony. The King gave 
to this vast territory the name of Pennsylvania, Penn’s Wood¬ 
lands, in honor of Penn’s father, who had aided in the resto¬ 
ration of Charles II to the English throne. 

Pennsylvania, founded as a refuge for persecuted English 
Quakers, had as its first object religious freedom. The Quakers 
were extreme dissenters from the established Church of England. 
They abolished all outward ceremonies, had no ministers, and 
believed that spiritual guidance came to each individual from 
God Himself. They were bitterly persecuted in the mother 
country as well as in some of the colonies. 

93. Philadelphia Founded. In 1682 Penn came to America on 
the ship Welcome. He purchased from the Swedes a neck of 
land between the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers and laid out a 
city which he called Philadelphia, or “Brotherly Love.” The 
growth of the city was most remarkable. It soon surpassed New 


86 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



York, founded more than half a century before, and for more 
than one hundred years it was the largest city in America. 

94. Treaty with the Indians. William Penn treated the In¬ 
dians with great kindness and justice. He made a treaty with 
them which was rigidly kept on both sides for more than seventy 
years. By this treaty he paid them a fair price for their land. 
In accordance with Quaker faith no oath was taken when this 
treaty was made. The parties exchanged gifts, and the Indians, 


PENN’S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS 

won by the gentle manner of Penn, exclaimed, “As long as 
the river runs and the sun shines we will live in peace with the 
children of William Penn.” The elm tree, under which the treaty 
was made, was blown down in 1810, but a monument now marks 
its site. 

95. Penn’s Patent—-His “Great Law.” The Pennsylvania 
Charter made William Penn lord proprietor of Pennsylvania. It 
was modeled after that of Lord Baltimore, but did not grant such 






THE MIDDLE GROUP OF COLONIES 


87 


great powers. In Pennsylvania, laws were made with the 
approval of the king; in Maryland, the approval of the king was 
not necessary. In the Pennsylvania Charter the right of the 
British government to tax the colonists was affirmed; in the 
Maryland Charter any statement of this right was omitted. As 
an acknowledgment of his allegiance to the crown, Penn was 
required to pay annually two beaver skins and, in addition, 
one-fifth of all the gold and silver that might be found in the 
province. 

Penn’s colony was founded upon very liberal principles. The 
council and the assembly were elected by the people, but most 
important of all was the 
“Great Law,” which had been 
drawn up by Penn and ac¬ 
cepted by the assembly. This 
provided that there should 
be religious freedom in the 
colony; that all resident tax¬ 
payers should have the right 
to vote; that each child 
should be taught a trade; and 
that the death penalty should 
be inflicted only for murder 
or treason. For the first time 
in the history of the world it 
was attempted to make every 
prison a place of reformation. 

Penn’s Great Law remained 
the fundamental law of Penn¬ 
sylvania until the Revolution. 

96. Progress—Religion and 
Education. Pennsylvania, more than any other colony, was 
blessed with peace, abundance, and religious and civil liberty. 
These happy conditions, together with the reputation of William 
Penn, drew many people to the province from various nations, 








88 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


and the colony grew rapidly, with a mixed population noted 
for thrift, learning, and industry. Among the leading occu¬ 
pations were farming, commerce, and shipbuilding. 

Religious toleration prevailed throughout the colony. A 
number of Irish Catholics were among the early arrivals, and the 
Holy Sacrifice of Mass was celebrated for the first time at Phila¬ 
delphia in 1686. 

Education was not overlooked in the original plan of govern¬ 
ment prepared by Penn, and schools were established (1683) soon 
after the founding of the colony. 

Though Penn’s colony flourished, it caused him much anxiety 
and the loss of a large fortune, for it was not free from dissension. 
Even during the lifetime of Penn, the settlers refused to pay the 
rents necessary to cover the heavy outlay in behalf of the prov¬ 
ince, and sought to weaken his authority. Penn returned to 
his native land (1701), where he passed the remaining seventeen 
years of his well-spent life in poverty and obscurity. In 1779 
the state of Pennsylvania bought out the rights of the Penns for 
about half a million dollars. 


Questions 

1. Describe the founding of New York. 

2. What was the patroon system? Would you want to live under such a 
system? 

3. How did Henry Hudson win the friendship of the Indians? 

4. Why were the colonists of New Netherlands dissatisfied with Dutch 
rule? Did they find English rule better? Describe Leisler’s rebellion. What 
were its most important consequences? 

5 . Describe the customs of the New York colony. Its education. 

6. Why was New Jersey so called? 

7. How was Delaware first settled? When? What was its later history? 

8. When was Pennsylvania settled? Why? How did Penn treat the 
Indians? Compare the government of Pennsylvania with that of Maryland. 
Why did Pennsylvania prosper? 


Theme Topics 

1. Describe a Dutch home in colonial days. 

2. Write a play dramatizing Penn’s treaty with the Indians. 


CHAPTER IX 


THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP OF COLONIES 
THE SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS 

97. Puritans and Separatists. During the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth a number of people became dissatisfied with the 
Church of England. Thinking that it retained too many rites of 
the Roman Catholic Church, they protested against some of the 
ceremonies of worship, such as the sign of the cross, the use of 
vestments, the ring at marriage, and kneeling in the church. 
Some of the people wished. to remain in the church but to 
“purify” the services; for this reason they were called Puritans. 
Others who were dissatisfied refused to attend the English state 
church, and became known as Separatists. 

98. Pilgrims. In the village of Scrooby, the Separatists 
attempted to form a church of their own. King James I regarded 
them as rebels and persecuted 
them. In 1608 a band of these 
Separatists fled from their 
homes in Scrooby to Holland 
where they were allowed to re¬ 
main and to worship as they 
pleased. Being strangers in a 
strange land, they feared that brewster ’s residence at scrooby 
their children would forget 

their English speech and habits; to prevent this they decided 
to go to America, where they could govern themselves and yet 
live under the English flag. Because of their wanderings, or pil¬ 
grimages, these people were called Pilgrims. 

Returning to England, they set sail for America in the May¬ 
flower and the Speedwell. The latter vessel proved unsafe, and 

89 












90 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


the Pilgrims were obliged to go back to Plymouth, from which 
port one hundred and two of them again set out in the May¬ 
flower. After a stormy and perilous voyage they landed in 
December on the bleak shores of Cape Cod. There, at Plymouth 
(1620), these Pilgrims established the first permanent settle¬ 
ment in Massachusetts. 

99. The Mayflower Compact. Before landing, the Pilgrims 

drew up on board the Mayflower a written contract pledging 



A GROUP OF PILGRIMS 


themselves to obey such laws as they should enact for the general 
good. This compact is one of the great documents in American 
history. John Carver was elected governor. 

100. Difficulties—First Thanksgiving Day. The colonists 
suffered severely from cold and lack of food during the first 
winter, and Governor Carver and half of his little band died. 
Still not one of the survivors thought of returning to England 
when the Mayflower again set sail in the following spring. 
Instead they set to work preparing the soil for the seed, and the 
first crop (corn, pumpkins, etc.) raised by the Pilgrims, was good 
though small. Deer, wild turkey, and fish were plentiful. The 









THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP OF COLONIES 


91 


colonists were now sheltered in comfortable houses, and after the 
harvest was gathered and stored away, William Bradford, the 
new governor, ordered (1621) a three days’ feast of thanksgiving, 
at which ome hundred Indians were guests. Thus originated our 
annual festival of Thanksgiving. 

101. Plymouth Leaders—Progress—The Indians. William 
Bradford, who was governor of the settlement for some thirty 
years, became the historian of the colony. Other leaders were 
William Brewster and the famous soldier, Miles Standish, the 
chosen military leader of the colony. Standish was a lion in 
battle, and spread terror among the hostile Indians, but was 
noted for his womanly tenderness in the care of the sick and 
wounded. Longfellow gives a good picture of him in his “ Court¬ 
ship of Miles Standish.” 

The Plymouth colonists, like the Virginians, at first established 
the system of holding property in common. Since this, however, 
proved unsatisfactory even among the sober and industrious 
Pilgrims, the common storehouse was abolished within a few 
years. Owing to the poverty of the settlers, and also to the fact 
that the number of Separatists in England was small, the colony 
grew but slowly. In 1691 it was united to the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony. 

The Indian tribes of the region belonged to the Algonquin 
family; fortunately for the settlers, they had been greatly re¬ 
duced in number by a pestilence. In the spring the settlement 
was surprised by visits from two friendly savages, Samoset, who 
had learned a few words of English from fishermen on the coast 
of Maine, and Squanto, who had been previously kidnapped and 
taken to England. These two natives brought to the settlement 
Massasoit, the great chief of the Wampanoags, who made a 
treaty of friendship with the Pilgrims. On the other hand, 
Canonicus, chief of the Narragansetts, sent the colonists a declara¬ 
tion of war in the shape of a bundle of arrows tied with a rattle¬ 
snake skin. When Governor Bradford promptly returned the 
skin filled with powder and shot, Canonicus treated for peace. 



92 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


102. Government. The Pilgrims introduced the English town 
meeting. This government, a pure democracy in form, was 
the first of the kind in America. The citizens gathered at the 
town meeting, where they voted on all questions directly instead 
of through representatives. As the population increased, it became 



NEW ENGLAND KITCHEN 


inconvenient for all voters to assemble at Plymouth, and a 
representative system, resembling the House of Burgesses, was 
established. The right of voting was at first given to all men 
of the colony, but soon it was restricted by religious quali¬ 
fications. 

103. Salem, the Second Settlement. Charles I proved even 
more intolerant toward the Puritans than his father James I. 




















































































































THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP OF COLONIES 


93 


He stopped the meetings of Parliament and determined to rule 
as he pleased. A number of Puritans, adherents of the Parlia¬ 
mentary party, alarmed at the King’s conduct and encouraged 
by the example of the Pilgrims, obtained from the Council for 
New England, which had taken the place of the old Plymouth 
Company, a grant of land extending between the Merrimac and 
Charles Rivers, and three miles beyond each, as far west as the 
South Sea (Pacific). A settlement was made at Salem (1628) 
under the leadership of John Endicott. 

104. The Massachusetts Bay Colony—Charter. The next 
year Charles I, perhaps glad to get rid of a large number of his 
troublesome subjects, confirmed the grant of the Council for 
New England by a charter which created the Massachusetts Bay 
Company. This charter was a very liberal one and gave to the 
Company extensive powers which in fact amounted to self- 
government. The members of the Company emigrated to New 
England and since the charter did not state that the seat of 
government should be in England, the new colony became a 
self-governing community. 

105. Boston, Third Settlement. In 1630 John Winthrop, with 
a colony of one thousand Puritans, made a settlement at Boston. 
Puritan immigrants poured in, settling under the Massachusetts 
Bay Company at Dorchester, Cambridge, Watertown, and other 
places, all of which formed the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

106. Towns or Townships—Government. The Puritans usu¬ 
ally came in large communities, led by their ministers, with their 
plans of government well defined. They settled in parishes or 
townships, each about six or eight miles square, building their 
homes near a church or meeting house. All public business was 
transacted in the church, or in the town hall. 

The New England town or township, modeled after the town 
of England, was the origin of our present system of townships, 
and was the striking feature of New England life, as the plan¬ 
tation was of life in the Southern colonies. In Virginia we have 
the beginning of county government, while in Massachusetts we 
have the origin of town government. 


94 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Massachusetts was originally a charter colony in which the 
governor and the members of the legislature, or General Court, 
were elected by the freemen of the towns. Each town was a 
little commonwealth, chose its own officers, regulated its taxation 
and political affairs, and sent its delegates (deputies) to the 
General Court. 

107. The New England Confederation. The various settle¬ 
ments of Massachusetts and Connecticut (Massachusetts Bay, 
Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven) formed a confedera¬ 
tion or military league (1643), under the name of “The United 
Colonies of New England’ ’ for the purpose of defense against the 
French, the Dutch, and the Indians. Under the constitution of 
the league, each colony was independent in its local affairs, while 
important matters of common interest—Indian and inter-colonial 
affairs—were settled by a commission of two representatives 
from each colony. The confederation, which was the first experi¬ 
ment in united action by American colonies, lasted forty years. 
It prepared the way for the Continental Congress and for the 
final union of the states in 1789. It taught the colonists how to 
unite, and made stronger their feeling of independence. 

108. Religious Intolerance. Although the Puritans had been 
driven by religious persecution to the New World, they showed 
no desire in their new home to establish religious liberty. Roman 
Catholics, Baptists, and Quakers, especially, were hated. All 
Catholic priests were forbidden to enter the colony, under penalty 
of banishment. 

Roger Williams, a young Salem minister, was a man of high 
ideals and natural ability. He believed in the separation of 
church from state, and full toleration in religious matters. He 
thought that the king of England had no right to grant American 
Indian lands to the colonists. Because of these principles, 
Williams was sentenced by the General Court of Massachusetts 
to be sent back to England. He fled to the wilderness, however, 
where he was befriended by the Indians. In the following year 
he founded Providence, the first permanent town in the present 
state of Rhode Island. 


THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP OF COLONIES 


95 


The peace of the colony was next disturbed by Mrs. Anne 
Hutchinson, a gifted woman who gathered together the women 
ot Boston to discuss religious matters. Banished with her 
followers, she sought refuge in Rhode Island. Later she moved 
to New York, where she perished in an Indian massacre. 

109. The Salem Witchcraft. In 1692 a strange delusion 
regarding witchcraft caused a reign of terror in the colony. 
Various persons, at first only children and old women, were 
accused of being in league with the devil for the purpose of 
inflicting upon others different forms of torments. Suspicions, 
accusations, tortures, forced confessions of guilt, and executions 
followed one upon another, till the people became panic-stricken 
and no one felt secure. At length the colonists returned to their 
senses, the prison doors were thrown open, and the judges and 
ministers publicly confessed their error, but only after twenty 
persons had been executed and many others tortured and im¬ 
prisoned. The memory of this event will ever be a source of 
shame and humiliation to the nation. 

110. The Puritans and the Indians. The Indians in the 
earliest days of Massachusetts were friendly to the colonists. 
They taught the white men their methods of hunting, fishing, 
trapping, and traveling, and the use and cultivation of Indian 
corn. These services were very poorly repaid by the settlers of 
Massachusetts, who looked upon the Indians as savages whom 
the whites had a right to kill. Some attempts were made, how¬ 
ever, by the settlers to Christianize the Indians. John Eliot, a 
minister of the Church of England, who came to Boston in 1631, 
studied the native language, translated the Bible into the Indian 
tongue, and gathered his converts into settlements called “ towns 
of praying Indians.” The attempts of the English to Chris¬ 
tianize the Indians ended with the outbreak of the wars between 
the Indians and the colonists. 

111. King Philip’s War. King Philip was the chief of the 
Wampanoags. He formed a league with all the Indian tribes 
from Maine to the Hudson for the purpose of killing all the whites 
in New England. The consequence was a horrible Indian war 


96 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


(1675), noted for its cruelties on both sides. It lasted two years, 
until the death of King Philip, when the power of the New 
England Indians was forever broken. Though the New Eng¬ 
landers overcame the Indians, their victory was costly. Out of 
ninety towns, twelve were utterly destroyed. More than one 
thousand men, and a great many women and children perished 
during this period. 

112. Massachusetts Loses Its Charter. After a time Massa¬ 
chusetts gained the ill-will of the King because the colony had 
built up a strong and independent government, and because it 
opposed the Church of England. The charter was therefore 
withdrawn by King Charles II, and Massachusetts became a 
royal colony. 

When Charles II died, James II, who succeeded him, appointed 
Sir Edmund Andros governor of all New England. Andros, an 
extremely despotic ruler, took from the colonists all of their 
political liberties. As soon as the people of New England heard 
that James II had been deposed from his English throne, they 
put Andros in jail and later sent him back to England. After 
this, the old forms of government were assured. Town meetings 
were held and the legislature was elected by the people, though 
the governor was appointed by the king. Under the royal 
governors the troubles of the colony increased until they were 
finally ended by the Revolution. 

113. Education. The Massachusetts people early provided 
for the education of their children by establishing (1647) free 
schools. In fact it was in Massachusetts that the United States 
public school system began. Many of the Massachusetts settlers 
were university graduates, and it was natural that they thought 
it necessary to have a college. The General Court gave a whole 
year’s tax, and John Harvard, a young clergyman, bequeathed 
his books and half his estate, toward the founding of Harvard 
College (Harvard University), the first in the United States, 
but not the first in America. (See page 37.) The name of 
Newtown, where the college was located, was changed to Cam- 


THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP OF COLONIES 


97 


bridge in honor of Cambridge University in England. The 
Pointing press set up in Cambridge in 1639 was the first in the 
United States, though the Spanish had used one in Mexico a 
century before. 

Character Manners and Customs. The Pilgrim found- 
eis of Massachusetts, though tyrannical toward all believers in 
any creed except their 
own, were character¬ 
ized by industry, so¬ 
briety, and religion. 

They came to settle 
permanently in the 
New World and to 
establish a church 
and government ac¬ 
cording to their own 
ideas. 

The Puritan set¬ 
tlers, by reason of their 
very peculiar religious 
views, were of a 
gloomy nature, and their manners were severe and repelling. 
Every town had its public whipping post and stocks; gossips 
and scolds were bound and gagged at their own doors; fines 
were imposed for the wearing of too costly clothing. 

The Puritan, unlike the Cavalier and the aristocratic settler of 
the southern colonies, did not wear satins, velvets, lace ruffles, 
gold buckles, or plumes, but a somber-hued tunic, loose knee 
trousers, and long woolen stockings. For out-of-door wear this 
costume was completed by a high hat and a short cloak. All 
persons were forbidden on the Sabbath to run or to walk any¬ 
where “save reverently to and from church.” These laws, 
though stern in themselves, produced a hardy race. 

115. Industry. The rocky soil and cold climate of New 
England were not favorable to rural life, hence the people, unlike 



THE STOCKS AND PILLORY 








































98 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


those of the southern colonies, who lived on broad plantations, 
dwelt in towns, surrounded by small farms. The swift-running 
streams encouraged manufacturing; the good fishing off the coast 
led to a prosperous export trade in dried fish; the wild animals of 
the forest furnished a profitable trade in furs; while the fine tim¬ 
ber of the woodlands encouraged the shipbuilding industry, for 
which New England became famous. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE 

116. Founding of New Hampshire and Maine. The Council 

for New England granted to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and John 
Mason, two Englishmen, the territory between the Merrimac 
and the Kennebec Rivers for sixty miles inland. In 1623 settle¬ 
ments were made at Dover and Portsmouth for the purpose of 
carrying on fishing and fur trading. A few years later the owners 
divided their grant, Gorges selecting the portion that is now 
Maine, and Mason taking what is now New Hampshire. 

Although Maine and New Hampshire were proprietary colo¬ 
nies, their owners left the early settlers to govern themselves. 
Puritans from Massachusetts moved into New Hampshire, and, 
after the death of Mason, Massachusetts annexed the whole 
territory. Later, New Hampshire was made a royal colony. 

Massachusetts paid the heirs of Gorges for their interest in the 
territory, and Maine continued a part of Massachusetts until 
admitted into the union as a state. 

The settlers of Maine belonged largely to the Church of 
England. At the present city of Calais, however, the French, 
under De Monts and Champlain, erected a number of buildings 
including a small chapel. Here the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was 
offered for the first time on New England soil in 1604. 

The customs, manners, and occupations of the people of New 
Hampshire were similar to those of the people of Massachusetts, 
but their laws and ways of living were not so rigid. They were 
religious after the Puritan fashion (Congregationalists), thrifty, 
resolute, and brave. 


THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP OF COLONIES 


99 


THE SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT 

117. Puritans in the Connecticut Valley. Because of the 
explorations of Henry Hudson, the Dutch claimed the territory 
as far east as the Connecticut River. They built a fort at Hart¬ 
ford, where they engaged in fur trading with the Indians. Some 
time later, John Winthrop, son of Governor Winthrop, of 
Massachusetts, built a fort, 

Saybrook, at the mouth of 
the river. This cut off com¬ 
munications between Hart¬ 
ford and New Amsterdam, 
and the fort was abandoned 
by the Dutch. 

118. Conflict between 
Winthrop’s and Hooker’s 
Ideas. Governor Winthrop 
thought that a large number 
of the people were unfit to 
have a share in the govern¬ 
ment. He believed that the 
best and wisest persons only, 
especially the clergy, should 
be in control. 

Thomas Hooker, the elo¬ 
quent pastor of the Puritan 
church in Newtown (Cam¬ 
bridge), thought that all the 
people ought to share in the making of their laws. He and his 
followers, dissatisfied with the government in Massachusetts, 
moved to the rich valley of the Connecticut, where they founded 
the town of Hartford (1636). Other colonists from Massa¬ 
chusetts had already settled at Wethersfield and Windsor. 

119. The Connecticut Constitution. The three river towns of 
Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford united under the name of 



> ) ) 



100 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Connecticut Colony. They adopted (1639) a written constitution 
which they called “The Fundamental Orders.” This was the 
first written American constitution. 

120. The New Haven Colony. New Haven was founded 
(1638) on Long Island Sound, by a company of English traders— 
Puritans—under the leadership of their minister, John Daven¬ 
port, and a London merchant, Theophilus Eaton. This colony 
based its government upon the Bible, and like the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony, allowed none but church members to vote. 

121. The Connecticut Charter. In 1662 Charles II annexed 
the New Haven colony to Connecticut. He granted Connecticut 
a royal charter, the most liberal in character that had been 
given, which made the colony a little republic and so well satisfied 
the people that it afterwards became the state constitution until 
1818. 

When Sir Edmund Andros became governor-general of the 
whole of New England he went to Hartford and demanded the 
charter. It is said that during a heated debate which was pro¬ 
longed till after dark, the candles were suddenly blown out, and 
when they were relighted the charter had disappeared. It had 
been hidden in the hollow of a tree, famous ever after as the 
“Charter Oak.” Andros no longer had a charter to suppress, 
but the colony no longer had one to appeal to. Thus Connecticut 
passed under the tyrannical rule of Governor Andros. When 
James II was deposed, Andros lost his authority, and the colony 
resumed its charter government. 

122. The Pequot War. The Connecticut settlers were re¬ 
peatedly attacked by the powerful Pequot Indians, who appeared 
to be plotting the extermination of the English. Captain John 
Mason and Captain John Underhill (1637), with a band of about 
one hundred men, attacked the savages. The Pequots tried to 
induce the Mohegans and the Narragansetts to join them, but 
Roger Williams, forgetting the wrong done him by Massa¬ 
chusetts, used his influence with these tribes, and they refused to 
help the Pequots in their war against the colonists of Connecti- 



THE NEW ENGLAND GROUP OF COLONIES 


101 


cut. Mason and Underhill finally practically destroyed the 
entire tribe. 

123. Religion—Manners and Customs—Education. The colo¬ 
nizers of Connecticut were Puritans of the Congregational 
type. Other Christian denominations were merely tolerated, and 
religious freedom was far from complete. No Catholic priest was 
allowed to live in the colony. 

The settlers of Connecticut belonged to the same class of 
people as those of Massachusetts. Hence, they were similar to 
them in manners and customs, though perhaps less intolerant in 
religious matters, and more liberal in political affairs. 

Education received early attention in Connecticut. Free 
schools were established in 1650. Yale College, the third in 
the United States, was founded at New Haven (1701). 

THE SETTLEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND 

124. Founding of Rhode Island—The Rhode Island Charter. 

When Roger Williams fled to the wilderness to escape being trans¬ 
ported to England, he and his five companions sought refuge 
with Massasoit, on Narragansett Bay. Here he bought from his 
red friends a tract of land upon which he founded a town (1636) 
for the purpose of greater religious and civil liberty. He called 
his settlement Providence, in gratitude for God’s mercy which 
had thus provided for him. Further bands of exiles led respec¬ 
tively by William Coddington and Mrs. Anne Hutchinson bought 
from the Indians the island of Rhode Island, where they planted 
the colonies of Portsmouth and Newport. Roger Williams vis¬ 
ited England as agent of the settlers, and procured (1644) from a 
Parliamentary commission a charter which united the colonies 
under the name of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 
This granted the people the right to elect their own governors 
and to rule themselves as they thought best. 

125. Religion—Class of People. The first Baptist church in 
America was founded by Roger Williams in Rhode Island. The 
Baptist denomination became the most influential in the colony. 


102 


A HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES 


The charter granted religious freedom to all, though for a time 
(from 1719 till the Revolution), Catholics and Jews were denied 
the right to vote. 

The settlers of Rhode Island, though much more liberal in 
their moral and civil principles, resembled the people of the 
mother colony in their customs. The first institution of higher 
learning was Brown University (founded 1764). 

Questions 

1. Who were the Puritans? The Separatists? The Pilgrims? Why is the 
Mayflower Compact a noted document? 

2. Describe the relations between the Pilgrims and the Indians. 

3. What kind of government did the Pilgrims establish? 

4. Name and locate various settlements made by the Massachusetts Bay 
Company. 

5. Why is the New England Confederation important? 

6. Describe the relations between the Puritans and the Indians. 

7. Why did the people of New York revolt against Andros? Was it for 
the same reason that the people of Virginia had revolted against Berkeley? 
How do these battles between the colonists and the King’s governors fore¬ 
shadow the Revolutionary War? 

8. Describe education in the Massachusetts colony. Industry. Character. 
Customs. 

9. By whom were New Hampshire and Maine settled? When? 

10. What were John Winthrop’s ideas of government? Thomas Hooker’s? 
In which ideas do we believe today? From where did the Connecticut settlers 
come? In what direction were they moving? Why was their charter taken 
away from them? 

11. Why did Roger Williams found Rhode Island? 

Theme Topics 

1. Write a brief description of the first Thanksgiving. 

2. Describe an Indian attack upon a white settlement. 

3. Puritan Punishments. 


CHAPTER X 


INTER-COLONIAL WARS 



FRENCH AND INDIANS 


126. Claims of European Nations in America. In the last part 
of the seventeenth century three European nations claimed 
territory in North America. Each nation based its claims upon 
discoveries, explorations, and settlements made under its flag. 
France claimed the valleys of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi 
Rivers and the region about the Great Lakes. England claimed 
the territory extending from Canada to Florida and from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific. Spain claimed Florida. 

127. Causes of Wars. England and France had been bitter 
enemies in Europe for centuries, and now each was ambitious to 
control as much territory in America as possible. Both nations 
claimed the Mississippi Valley, and partly because of these rival 
claims, but principally because England and France were at war 
in Europe, the colonists began to fight in America. These 
struggles between the French and English colonists were called 
the Inter-colonial Wars. 


103 














104 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


128. King William’s War (1689-1697). In 1688 King James II 
was driven out of England, William of Orange being placed upon 
the throne. France at once defended James, and a great war 
began, which soon spread to the colonies in America. After 
eight years of fighting the war was ended by the Treaty of 
Ryswick. Neither the English nor French in America had gained 
territory, and the old causes for enmity remained. 

129. Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713). After five years of 
peace, Queen Anne, who had succeeded King William on the 
English throne, declared war against France and Spain. Again 
the colonies in America took part in the conflict. The Treaty of 
Utrecht, which ended the war, gave Acadia, Newfoundland, and 
the borders of Hudson Bay to the English, who changed the 
name of Acadia to Nova Scotia. 

130. King George’s War (1744-1748). When war broke out 
again in Europe, the French in Canada made attacks upon the 
border settlements in New England and New York. The Eng¬ 
lish sent an expedition against Louisburg, where a French fort 
had been built on Cape Breton Island at a cost of more than five 
million dollars. The French thought this fortress so strong that 
it could not be taken, but the English succeeded in capturing it. 
By the treaty that closed the war, Louisburg was given back to 
the French. 

131. French and Indian War (1754-1763). The French and 

Indian war, so called because the French colonists and the Indian 
tribes fought against the English colonists, was the last and most 
important of the Inter-colonial Wars. The three preceding wars 
had settled nothing, but this war decided which of the two 
nations, France or England, should be supreme in America. 
The French had strengthened their power in the Mississippi 
Valley by the planting of colonies near the mouth of the river. 
Natchez and New Orleans had been founded shortly after the 
close of Queen Anne’s War. France also fortified various points 
throughout the entire valley, building more than sixty forts at 
places of military importance on the St. Lawrence, the Great 


INTER-COLONIAL WARS 


105 







P7 *S0. 


ONTARIO 




:v ; enang.o 


^ F0RT : ; DU QU E5 N E 


pprwws 


Lakes, the Illinois, the Wabash, and the Mississippi. Mackinac, 
Sault Ste. Marie, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, St. Joseph, and 
Vincennes were the sites of some of the most important strong¬ 
holds. 




106 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


The English viewed this chain of forts with alarm. Some of 
the prominent men of Virginia organized the Ohio Company, 
obtaining from King George II a grant of land between the 
Kanawha and the Monongahela Rivers. The company at once 
sent out explorers and prepared to take possession of the upper 
Ohio valley. The French promptly resolved to stop the move¬ 
ment. They buried leaden plates, inscribed with the claims of 
France, along the Alleghany and Ohio Rivers, and began a new 
line of forts, including Presque Isle, La Boeuf, and Venango, 
which extended from Erie on Lake Erie to the point where the 
Alleghany and the Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio, 
the present sight of Pittsburgh. This point was called the “Gate¬ 
way of the West.” Both parties understood the advantage of 
controlling it; both were determined to seize and fortify it. 

Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, alarmed at the activity dis¬ 
played by the French, sent George Washington, a young Vir¬ 
ginian, to Fort La Boeuf with orders to inform the French com¬ 
mander that he was building on English territory and would do 
well to depart peaceably. Washington returned from his perilous 
journey with a refusal from St. Pierre, the French commander. 
The Ohio Company now began to build a fort at the “Gate¬ 
way of the West.” Washington was sent with a small force 
to occupy the fort, but before he could reach it, the French 
had driven off the English, completed the fort, and named it 
Duquesne. Washington built Fort Necessity, which he was 
soon forced to surrender to the French. 

132. The Albany Plan of Union. For the first time we find 
all the colonies working together. A convention of the north¬ 
ern colonies met at Albany, at which Benjamin Franklin pro¬ 
posed a union of the colonies under a president appointed by 
the crown and a council chosen by the people. His plan, how¬ 
ever, was rejected by both the King and the colonists. 

133. War Declared. The defeat of Washington at Fort 
Necessity was the beginning of the French and Indian War. 
France now sent over Marquis Montcalm to take command of 


INTER-COLONIAL WARS 


107 



LOUISBURO 


her forces. On the part of England, the war on both sides of 
the ocean was skillfully managed by one of the greatest states¬ 
men the world has ever seen, William Pitt, afterwards Earl of 
Chatham. He not only furnished the English colonists with 
money and competent com¬ 
manders, but also managed to 
keep the main strength of 
France busily engaged in the 
European struggle while Eng¬ 
lish fleets were attacking her 
and English armies were driv¬ 
ing her from both America 
and India. 

134. Five Points of Attack. 

The physical features of the 
country and the situation of 
the French clearly indicated five points of attack: Louisburg, 
Duquesne, Crown Point and Ticonderoga, Niagara, and Que¬ 
bec. All of these points finally yielded to the English forces. 

135. Acadia and Louisburg. Acadia, which had come into 
the possession of England by the Treaty of Utrecht, was inhab¬ 
ited by peaceful Catholic peasants. England had guaranteed 
them the free exercise of their religion and the privilege of not 
bearing arms against their French countrymen in Canada. 
They refused to take the oath of allegiance to England, because 
this would deprive them of these two privileges. Because of 
their attitude they were taken from their homes and scattered 
throughout the English colonies. Longfellow relates the sad 
story of these unhappy exiles in his “ Evangeline.” 

Forces under Generals Wolfe and Amherst took Louisburg 
after a severe bombardment, which made possible a naval 
attack on Quebec. 

136. Fort Duquesne. The fort at Duquesne was the key to 
the West, and its capture by the English was therefore important. 
This “Gateway of the West” was at first unsuccessfully attacked 



108 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



(1755) by a combined English and colonial force under General 
Braddock. Braddock was a brave British officer, but he was 
ignorant of Indian warfare. The savages never met an enemy 
in open battle, but fired at him from behind rocks, trees, and 
bushes, being always on the alert to take him unguarded. 
Braddock, ordering his army to march on with drums beating 
and flags flying, blundered into a French and Indian ambush 

near Fort Duquesne, and his 
army was cut to pieces. He 
himself w r as among the seven 
hundred slain. Total destruc¬ 
tion of the army was pre¬ 
vented only by the skill of 
Washington. A second expe¬ 
dition led by General Forbes, 
with Washington in com¬ 
mand of the Virginia troops, 
captured the fort (1758). The 
name of the post was changed 
to Pittsburgh in honor of 
William Pitt, the prime min¬ 
ister of England. 

137. Crown Point and Ti- 
conderoga. The two strong¬ 
holds at Crown Point and 

THE TAKING OF QUEBEC 

Ticonderoga, controlling the 
route to Canada, left New York as well as New England exposed 
to French invasion. The first expedition against Ticonderoga, 
.in command of General Abercrombie, was defeated, but one 
year later an English army under General Amherst forced the 
French to evacuate both Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 

138. Fort Niagara. Situated between Lakes Erie and Ontario, 
Fort Niagara protected the great fur trade of the upper Lakes 
and the West. It finally surrendered to the English under Sir 
William Johnson, who was aided by his friends, the Iroquois. 





















INTER-COLONIAL WARS 


109 


139. The Fall of Quebec. Quebec, the strongest fortification 
in Canada, controlled the navigation of the St. Lawrence. This 
last and most important point, commanded by General Mont¬ 
calm, was finally captured by General Wolfe after a desperate 
battle. 

Quebec was so strongly fortified that the only way the English 
could reach it was to scale a high and almost perpendicular rock. 



From the painting by Benjamin West 


DEATH OF WOLFE 

Wolfe at last found a steep pathway leading to the summit of 
the fortress. Over this he succeeded in getting his army to the 
“Plains of Abraham,” where he surprised and captured the 
garrison. During the battle both brave generals were slain— 
Wolfe rejoicing in his dying breath that the victory was his, 
and Montcalm thankful that he would not survive to see the 
surrender of Quebec. 

Montcalm was buried in the chapel of the Ursuline convent. 
On the monument that was erected in Quebec to the honor of 
Wolfe and Montcalm are the following words: “Valor gave a 



















110 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


united death, History a united fame, Posterity a united monu¬ 
ment.” 

140. Outcome of the War. The treaty of peace at Paris 
(1763) marked the close of the French and Indian War and 
ended French claims in North America. By this treaty: 

(a) France gave to England all the territory east of the Mis¬ 

sissippi except two islands south of Newfoundland, and to 
Spain all her territory west of the Mississippi; 

( b ) Spain gave Florida to England in exchange for Cuba. 

The British possessions in America now extended from the 
Gulf of Mexico to the Polar Sea and from the Mississippi River 
to the Atlantic Ocean. 

141. Effects of the War. Besides securing for the English the 
supremacy in America, the war had many other far-reaching 
effects, namely: 

(a) English language, laws, and liberty were planted every¬ 

where on the American continent ; 

( b ) a bond of union among the colonists was created ; 

(c) the colonists had learned that the American troops were as 

fearless as were the British regulars; 

(d) a body of colonial officers was trained in the science of war; 

(e) France, swayed by wounded pride and loss of political and 

commercial interests, later volunteered to aid the colonies 
in throwing off English authority; 

(/) an enormous debt was created, which caused the levying of 
new taxes, and thus became the direct cause of the Rev¬ 
olution. 

142. Pontiac’s War. Immediately after the war, the Indians 
in the valley of the Great Lakes united under Pontiac against 
the English who lived near Detroit. The border settlements of 
Pennsylvania and Virginia were burned and hundreds of families 
were driven from their homes or massacred. After fighting 
desperately for a time the Indians begged for peace. Pontiac 
fled, but was killed by a Kaskaskia Indian. This ended the war. 


INTER-COLONIAL WARS 


111 


Questions 

1. On the map of North America show the territories claimed by Spain in 
the last part of the seventeenth century. By England. By France. Name 
the four inter-colonial wars in the order of occurrence. 

2. What was done by the French to defend the claims made? By the 
English? Why was the present location of Pittsburgh an important fort in 
the struggle for control? Point it out on the map. How did the struggle 
against France help to unite the English colonies? What previous steps 
had they taken toward union? (See Section 107.) 

3. Name the most important battle of the French and Indian War. Describe 
it. Show on the map of North America the territory owned by England at 
the close of the war. By Spain. By France. 

4. What were the most important effects of the French and Indian War? 

Theme Topics 

1. Write a short theme telling how George Washington delivered Governor 
Dinwiddie’s orders to the French commander. 

2. Describe the ascent of Wolfe and his men to the “Plains of Abraham.” 
(See picture on page 108.) 


CHAPTER XI 


A SUMMARY OF COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT 

143. Extent of Colonial Territory—Population. At the close 
of the French and Indian War (1763) the thirteen original colo¬ 
nies occupied a strip of land stretching from Maine to Florida 
and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. The colonial popula¬ 
tion had increased to about two million persons, one-fourth of 
whom were slaves. The Mason and Dixon’s line divided the 
population into nearly equal parts. Virginia, the most populous 
colony, had 300,000 inhabitants, while Georgia, the youngest 
colony, had only five thousand. The settlers had come from 
many different countries, and the mingling of the various elements 
that made up the population—each with its own ideas and ideals 
—tended greatly toward broadening the views of the people. 
The English settled in all parts of the country, but chiefly in 
New England; the French Huguenots were found in New Eng¬ 
land and in the Carolinas; Germans made their homes in New 
York and the Carolinas, but there were more of them in Penn¬ 
sylvania than in the other colonies. The Irish were found in 
nearly every colony, but the greatest number were in the middle 
section of the country. The Swedes settled mainly in Delaware. 

144. Negro Slavery. Slavery existed in almost all the colo¬ 
nies. In the North, however, where slaves could not be used to 
good advantage on the small farms of New England, it was 
gradually dying out. Slaves were not numerous in the middle 
colonies, and in Pennsylvania the Quakers opposed slavery on 
moral grounds. In New York and New Jersey it existed to a 
limited extent, while in Delaware it lasted until the Civil - War. 

South of the Mason and Dixon’s line negroes were particularly 
useful in the tobacco-fields of Virginia and the malarial rice- 

112 



A SUMMARY OF COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT 


113 


fields of South Carolina. They formed about thirty per cent of 
the population in Maryland, forty per cent in Virginia, and sixty 
per cent in South Carolina. 



A SOUTHERN MANSION 


145. Industrial Life. In New England the people engaged 
largely in whaling, fishing, shipbuilding, and trading, but they 
also distilled rum from West India molasses. Agriculture, com¬ 
merce, milling, lumbering, and trading in furs, were the chief 
occupations in the middle colonies; also iron and paper were 
manufactured. In the southern colonies, agriculture was the 
chief industry, especially the growing of tobacco, rice, and indigo. 
Tar and turpentine were manufactured, and lumbering was 
actively engaged in. The scattered conditions of the thirteen 
original colonies along the Atlantic gave rise to a large trade 
along the coast, and encouraged the building of vessels in all the 
colonies, but especially in New England. Here the industry 
was so extensive, and so many ships were built, that the ship- 







































114 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


builders of Great Britain complained that the Americans were 
ruining their business. This seafaring life naturally developed a 
hardy and expert body of sailors, and eventually furnished the 
nation with naval heroes. 



BOSTON IN 1743 


146. The Growth of Towns. We have seen that in the South 
the planters lived great distances apart along the rivers. Each 
planter had his own wharf, and goods could be bought and 
exchanged at his very door. This condition made the growth 
of towns in the South slow. Baltimore was the only city of 
importance in the tobacco country, and Charleston in the rice 
region. On the other hand, the political and industrial con¬ 
ditions of New England and the middle colonies gave rise to 
numerous towns which grew rapidly. Of these Philadelphia 
was the largest, New York second, and Boston third. 

147. Commerce. In spite of the Navigation Acts, the colo¬ 
nists traded with Spain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and 
the West Indies. The principal articles of export were rum, salt 
fish, flour, and iron from the New England colonies; fir, lumber, 














































A SUMMARY OF COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT 


115 


iron, and paper from the middle colonies; and tobacco, rice, 
indigo, tar, turpentine, lumber, and staves from the southern 
colonies. The principal articles of import were hardware, glass, 
crockery, clothing, furniture, and household utensils from Eng¬ 
land; and sugar, molasses, and cotton from the West Indies. 

148. Travel—Communication. In colonial days travel over¬ 
land was by foot, horseback, or stage-coach. Twice a week, 
covered lumber wagons made trips between New York and 
Philadelphia. Later a stage-coach called the “Flying Machine” 



BALTIMORE IN 1752 


covered the distance in two days, and the journey from Boston 
to New York in four days. Passengers were frequently called 
upon to get out and help pry the coach-wheels out of the mud. 
The rivers, lakes, and bays were traversed by means of flat 
ferries and row-boats, while along the coast traveling was done 
in sloops. In good weather the journey by water from New 
York to Philadelphia took three days. To cross the Atlantic 
required from a month to seven weeks or longer. 

The mail, carried by a post-rider on horseback, was never 
delivered more than three times a week in large towns, while it 
































116 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


was rarely taken more than once a month to remote settlements. 
Postage rates were so high that people seldom wrote to each 
other; therefore, the chance traveler with the latest news was 
always a welcome visitor. 



A POST-RIDER 


149. Colonial Forms of Government. The colonies, with re¬ 
spect to their government, were divided into three classes— 
corporate or self-governing, proprietaiy, and royal. At the time 
of the Revolution there were three corporate colonies, Massa¬ 
chusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut; three proprietary, 
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; and seven royal, 
Virginia, the Carolinas, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, 
and Georgia. 

The chief difference in these three groups was the method of 
choosing the governor, who was elected by the people in the 
corporate colonies (except Massachusetts after 1684), appointed 
by the proprietor in the proprietary colonies, and by the king in 
the royal colonies. 

The government in each colony was composed of three depart¬ 
ments—the governor, the council, and the assembly. The 






























A SUMMARY OF COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT 


117 


governor, who represented either the king or the proprietor 
(except in Rhode Island and Connecticut) had great power. 
He had the right of veto over the acts of the legislature, he was 
in command of the militia, and he appointed officials. He could 
not, however, tax the people. The council was usually composed 
of twelve distinguished residents of the colonies, who received 
their appointment from the same power that appointed the 
governor. Its threefold duties made it a board of advisers of the 
governor, the upper division of the legislature, and frequently 
the highest court of the colonies. The assembly, whose members 
in all the colonies were elected by the people, was the lower and 
larger branch of the legislature; it had much to do in making the 
laws, which, however, could be vetoed by the governor. If 
approved by him, the laws could be canceled by the king or 
the proprietor. The assembly alone had the power of taxing 
the people, and it often forced the governor to yield to its 
demands by withholding his salary. 

In the northern colonies the town, or township, was the unit 
of local government. Once a year, at least, the voters of the 
town would meet, choose their own officers for the next year, 
and decide all questions which came up about the affairs of the 
town, such as schools, roads, and taxes. They also chose per¬ 
sons to represent the town in the colonial legislature, which 
met at the chief town, where the interests of the whole colony 
were discussed. In the South the county, subdivided into 
parishes, controlled local government. 

150. Religion in the Colonies. The colonies were, as a rule, 
settled by religious-minded men, and the desire for religious 
liberty entered into the motives of many of the colony builders, 
notably those who founded Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode 
Island, and Pennsylvania. 

Calvinism, the most widely spread religious doctrine, prevailed 
in New England as Congregationalism; in New York it took the 
form of the Dutch Reformed Church; among Scotch-Irish and 
the French Huguenots settling in Virginia and the Carolinas 


118 


A HISTORY OF TIIE UNITED STATES 


it was known as Presbyterianism. The Church of England was 
supported by general taxes in Virginia, the Carolinas, and 
Maryland, and its influence was strong in New York. The 
Swedish Lutherans and German Baptists were important fac¬ 
tors in the population of Pennsylvania. 

Catholics were numerous in Maryland and well represented 
among the Germans in Pennsylvania, but elsewhere they were not 
very numerous. The Catholic Church in the United States at the 
time of the Revolution was composed of scarcely twenty-five 
thousand souls. There were about twenty-five priests scattered 
here and there, but no bishops. No Catholic college or school, no 
hospital or asylum existed. In spite of the difficulties encoun¬ 
tered by the colonial Catholics, the Faith was preserved. By 
the permission of Queen Anne, the Catholics of Maryland cele¬ 
brated Holy Mass in private houses, and the Jesuits, ever loyal 
to the colony which they helped to found, ministered to the 
widely spread flocks of Maryland as well as to the few Catholics 
in Virginia. The regular congregations of Catholics existing in 
tolerant Pennsylvania, and parts of New Jersey were also in 
charge of the Jesuits (Fathers Schneider and Farmer). A small 
congregation of Catholics in New York was attended by the 
Reverend John McKenna, the first resident priest in the province 
since the time of Dongan. 

151. Religious Intolerance. Religious liberty in colonial days 
did not mean the freedom of worship which all sects in the 
United States now enjoy. The groups of people who came to 
America for religious freedom wanted that freedom only for 
their own religion. They looked upon all outsiders as dangerous 
to the welfare of the community, just as the king of England 
regarded all dissenters from the established Church as enemies 
of the government. In most settlements made by these people, 
one church was established, and only the members of that church 
were allowed to take part in the government. Those who 
opposed the views of this church were persecuted. Catholics, 
especially, suffered during colonial times; they were denied the 


A SUMMARY OF COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT 


119 


privilege of the law, burdened with heavy taxes, and deprived of 
certain rights as citizens. But the close of the colonial period 
marked the dawn of religious, as well as civil and political, 
liberty. Roman Catholics and Protestants fought side by side 
in the Revolution, and religious prejudices were forgotten in the 
one common interest, national independence. 

152. Education. In New England the people, who valued 
education next to religion and almost as a part of it, early 
established free schools and colleges. In the middle colonies the 
Dutch patroon was required to establish a school when he made 
his settlement, and provision for education was a part of Penn’s 
plan for governing his colony. The South was slow in advancing 
the cause of education, owing to unfavorable government and 
to the scattered condition of the population. The richer class, 
however, employed private tutors to teach their children, or 
sent them to England to be educated. The poorer classes had 
scarcely any educational opportunities. 

153. Colonial Literature. The first book written in the 
colonies was John Smith’s True Relation of Virginia (1608), a 
book of travel in which Smith described incidents of note in the 
early history of Virginia. Cotton Mather’s Magnolia , a religious 
history of New England, was one of the first important books 
written by an American author. Father Andrew White, S. J., 
whose name is familiar in Maryland history, is especially noted 
for his History of Maryland, and a Grammar and Dictionary of 
the English language. Jonathan Edwards was another distin¬ 
guished New England author, his most notable work being an 
essay called Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will. The colonial 
writer of greatest distinction was Benjamin Franklin, whose best 
production during the colonial period is a collection of wise 
sayings, which he published every year under the title of Poor 
Richard’s Almanac. His Autobiography is also important. 

“The Boston Weekly News Letter,” established in 1704, was 
the first permanent newspaper in the colonies. “The Pennsyl¬ 
vania Packet,” founded in 1784, was the first daily newspaper. 


120 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


154. Colonial Art. The American artists of this period were 
the two historical painters, John Copley (1737-1815) and Ben¬ 
jamin West (1738-1820), and the great portrait painter Gilbert 
Stuart (1755-1828). Owing to the poor support given to artists 
in America at the time, they lived abroad, and each gained a 
reputation in England. Copley’s most noted portraits are of 
the English royal family; West’s most celebrated painting is 
the death of General Wolfe (see the picture on page 109); and 
Stuart’s, a portrait of Washington. 

155. The Household. In these early 
days, the New Englanders and the mid¬ 
dle colonists (with the exception of the 
New York settlers) lived in log cabins. 
Eventually well-built houses of heavy 
oak timber took the place of these 
dwellings. There were few stoves, and 
large open fireplaces, over or before 
which the cooking was done, were used. 
The chief room was the kitchen, where 
huge bunches of seed corn, and long 
strings of apples and onions were sus¬ 
pended from the ceiling. The walls of 
the rooms in the better buildings were 
plastered and whitewashed. The furniture usually included a 
tall wooden clock and a dresser on which were the pewter dishes 
brought from England. Nearly every home had a spinning 
wheel, and a loom for weaving. The food was simple, consisting 
usually of Indian meal and molasses, corn cakes, and potatoes. 

The middle class of the South lived in houses resembling those 
built in the North, but the rich owned stately mansions having 
wide porches and balconies, within which the music of the 
harpsichord was heard more often than the hum of the spinning 
wheel. The kitchen and the laundry stood apart from the 
mansion; wooden cabins at convenient distances from the 
residence housed the slaves, who performed the domestic labors. 



A SPINNING WHEEL 









A SUMMARY OF COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT 


121 


156. Amusements. The New Englanders had few enjoy¬ 
ments. During the long winter evenings the mothers and 
daughters would sit by the fireside with their spinning, knitting, 
and quilting, while the father read his Bible or smoked his pipe. 
Sometimes cider-drinking, nut¬ 
cracking, and story telling 
helped to pass away the eve¬ 
ning hours. The young people 
were not without their amuse¬ 
ments—house-raising, dancing, 
and corn-husking parties, and 
social gatherings for spinning, 
quilting, and apple-paring. The 
chief holiday was Thanks¬ 
giving; Christmas was not ob¬ 
served because of the Puritan 
dislike for the Church of Eng¬ 
land. In the middle colonies, 
people were more social and 
fonder of merry-making than 
those of New England. Spin¬ 
ning-bees, corn-husking, house¬ 
raising, and dancing parties 
were favorite amusements in the country. In towns, horse¬ 
racing, cock-fighting, balls, and picnics, were greatly enjoyed. 
The chief holidays were Christmas, New Year’s, St. Valentine’s 
Day, Easter, and May Day. The planters of the South, with 
their fine dogs, blooded horses, and coaches-and-six, lived in 
wasteful extravagance. The southerner was fond of sports, 
and he was generous and hospitable—his home always open to 
the respectable traveler. On Christmas, the great holiday of the 
year, everything was gay and bright in the planter’s house. 

157. Two Ideas of Government. The thirteen original 
colonies, though thirteen distinct governments, had very much 
in common. On the whole they were English colonies, obeyed 



PURITAN COSTUMES 
















122 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


English laws, and called the English sovereign their king. They 
traded with one another, kept in touch by means of letters and 
newspapers, and moved from one colony to another. Still, we 
have seen that the dwellers of the various parts of the country 
differed greatly from one another in respect to government, 
enterprise, religion, and spirit. The difference in the main was 
that between the Cavaliers and the Puritans. The Cavaliers, 
settling on the James River, believed in a strong government in 
which the leading men of the colony alone should control; the 
Puritans, settling at Plymouth, thought that all men should take 
part in the government. 


Questions 

1. Show on the map how the population was distributed at the ,close of 
the French and Indian War. How were the slaves distributed? Point out 
the location of the most important cities of the period. 

2. What is meant by a corporate colony? A proprietary colony? A royal 
colony? How were the people represented during colonial days? How could 
the people control the governors? What was the unit of government in the 
South? In the North? 

3. Discuss education in the colonies. Name the most important colonial 
writers. Painters. 

4. How did the inter-colonial wars break down religious intolerance? 

Theme Topics 

1. Difficulties of Travel in the Colonial Period. 

2. Be prepared to talk for five minutes upon the amusements of the colonists. 

3. The Serving of Meals in Early Colonial Days. (Let one of the girls 
write briefly on this subject.) 

4. Food from Forest and Sea. (Let one of the boys write a brief theme 
on this subject.) 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 
1607-1649 

James I and Charles I reign in England. 

Richelieu, minister of Louis XIII, rules in France. 

Religious wars rage in Germany and France. 

James I (1603-1625). 

1607. Virginia (1) is settled by the London Company at 
Jamestown. 

1608. Quebec is founded by the French. 

1609. Champlain discovers Lake Champlain. 

Henry Hudson discovers the Hudson River. 

1610. Hudson discovers Hudson Bay. 

Starving time in Virginia. 

1614. New York (2) is settled at New Amsterdam by the 
Dutch. 

1619. Negro slavery is introduced into Virginia. 

The first representative assembly in America, the 
House of Burgesses, is organized. 

1620. Massachusetts (3) is settled at Plymouth by the 
Pilgrims. 

1621. Thanksgiving Day originated. 

1623. New Hampshire (4) is settled at Dover and Ports¬ 
mouth by the English. 

Charles I (1625-1649). 

1628. Salem, second Massachusetts settlement, is founded. 
1629-1630. The Massachusetts Bay Company in America. 
Boston and other Massachusetts Bay colonies are 
founded. 

1633. Connecticut (5) is founded at Windsor by Massachu¬ 
setts colonists. 

1634. Maryland (6) is settled at St. Mary’s by English 
Roman Catholics. 

1634-1636. Connecticut settlements are founded at Wethers¬ 
field, Hartford, and Saybrook. 

123 


124 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


1636. Rhode Island (7) is founded at Providence by Roger 
Williams. 

Harvard College is founded. 

1637. Pequot war in Connecticut. 

1638. Delaware (8) is founded at Wilmington by the Swedes. 

1639. First printing press of the English colonies is set up 
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

1643. Four New England colonies form a league known as 
the New England Confederacy. 

1649. Execution of Charles I. 

1649-1660. Puritan rule of the Commonwealth in England. 
Louis XIV reigns in France. 

1660-1689 

Charles II (1660-1685). 

1662. Connecticut secures a charter. 

1663. Rhode Island secures a charter. 

North Carolina (9) and South Carolina (10) established. 
1664 New Amsterdam conquered by English. 

New Jersey (11) is granted to Berkeley and Carteret. 
1675-1676. King Philip’s War. 

1676. Bacon’s Rebellion occurs in Virginia. 

1681. William Penn secures grant of Pennsylvania (12). 

1682. Philadelphia is founded. 

1684. Massachusetts loses its charter. 

James II (1685-1689). 

1686. Andros is made governor of New England. 

1689-1714 

War between England and France, and as a consequence war between 
the French and English colonies in America, known as King William’s 
and Queen Anne’s Wars. 

William III and Mary (1689-1702). 

1689. Leisler’s Rebellion occurs in New York. 

1689-1697. King William’s War. 


9 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


125 


1692. Salem Witchcraft delusion occurs in New England. 

1693. College of William and Mary opens at Jamestown, Va. 

1694. St. John’s College is founded at Annapolis, Md. 

Queen Anne (1702-1714). 

1701. Yale College is founded at New Haven, Conn. 
1702-1713. Queen Anne’s War. 

1704. First weekly newspaper is issued at Boston, Mass. 

1714-1763 

George I, George II, and George III reign in England; Louis XV in 
France. 

George I (1714-1727). 

1724. Father Rasle is killed. 

George II (1727-1760). 

1732. George Washington is born in Virginia, February 22. 

1733. Georgia (13) is settled at Savannah, by English debtors 
under James Oglethorpe. 

1744-1748. King George’s War. 

Jonathan Edwards preaches and writes in New Eng¬ 
land. 

Benjamin Franklin begins to write and to make experi¬ 
ments with electricity. 

1746. Princeton College opens at Newark, N. J. 

1754-1763. French and Indian War. 

1759. Quebec is taken by the English. 

The great Generals Wolfe and Montcalm die. 

George III (1760-1820). 

1763. The treaty of peace at Paris ends the French and 
Indian War. 

1763-1767. Boundary line between Maryland and Virginia 
is settled by two surveyors, Mason and Dixon. 



PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION AND THE 

CONFEDERATION 

CHAPTER XII 

EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE WAR 

158. The Mother Country and Her Colonies. The results of 
the French and Indian War not only ended the French claims 
and possessions in America, but also marked the beginning of 
the end of England/s power over her American colonies. Eng¬ 
land had established her colonies in America in order that she 
might have dependent communities which would increase her 
trade. She regarded them chiefly as market places for her 
goods; accordingly, the laws she made in regulating colonial 
trade were based on the principle that the colonies existed for 
the benefit of the mother country. 

159. Laws Restricting Trade and Manufacture. As we have 
seen, the Navigation Acts restricted colonial commerce for the 
benefit of British merchants. Under these laws: 

(a) the colonies could trade only with the mother country 
and her dependencies; 

(b) all imports had to pass through English ports; 

(c) certain exports—tobacco, sugar, furs, copper, indigo, etc.— 
had to be sold in English markets; 

126 

















EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE WAR 


127 


(d) duties were imposed on articles shipped to England as well 
as on all trade of the colonies among themselves. 

The Sugar Act (1733), passed to protect the English West 
India sugar-producing islands, imposed a duty on sugar and 
molasses imported into the colonies from the French islands in 
the West Indies. This Act checked the prosperity of the New 
England colonies, which depended, for the most part, on their 
trade with the West Indies, 
where they exchanged flour, 
lumber, and fish for molasses 
and sugar. From these two 
products the New Englanders 
made rum, which they ex¬ 
ported to Africa, exchanging 
it for slaves to be sold to the 
southern colonists. 

When some of the northern 
colonies took to manufactur¬ 
ing, Parliament restricted this 
industry. New York and New 
England made a great many 
fur hats, but Parliament im¬ 
mediately forbade the manu¬ 
facturers to export them. 

All these laws, passed be¬ 
fore the French and Indian 
War, were not very strictly enforced, and much smuggling was 
carried on. Nine-tenths of all the tea and other imports were 
smuggled, and colonial trade continued to flourish. 

160. Writs of Assistance. After the close of the French and 
Indian War, King George III made up his mind to enforce the 
navigation laws and put an end to smuggling. He also wanted 
to make the colonies help pay part of the heavy debt which had 
been created by the recent war. To carry out his plans, the 
King now authorized the issue of “Writs of Assistance,” which 



GEORGE m 



128 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


were legal papers that gave the British officers the right to enter 
any house or shop in America, at any time, and search for 
smuggled goods. When the officers enforced this right in Boston, 
the colonists made an appeal to the court. The court’s decision 
was against the colonists, but the trial became famous on account 
of the eloquent speeches of James Otis, a young lawyer, who 
declared that the King’s officers had no right to search a man’s 
house. 

161. Taxation and Representation. “No taxation without 
representation” was the principle for which the English people 
had struggled during many centuries. In the reign of George 
III, however, representation in England was still very imperfect. 
For more than two hundred years the method of sending repre¬ 
sentatives to the House of Commons had not been changed— 
small towns of not more than half a dozen voters sometimes sent 
two members, simply because those towns had always had two 
representatives; while many of the large manufacturing cities 
that had grown up in recent years had no representatives. Con¬ 
sequently the theory came to be held that every member of 
Parliament, no matter by whom elected, represented all the 
people of the kingdom. George III could not see why Boston, 
New York, and Philadelphia should object to taxation, when 
cities in England, that also had no representative, did not 
object. Therefore he stubbornly insisted that if the colonies 
opposed taxation they must be forced into obedience. 

162. English Political Parties. At this time the House of 
Commons was controlled by a few powerful families of England, 
known as the Old Whigs, whose political party had ruled Eng¬ 
land during the reigns of the first two Georges. They were in 
favor of taking power from the king and giving it to the people 
represented by Parliament. The policy of the Tories, or 
Royalists, who opposed the Old Whigs, was to strengthen the 
king’s power and reduce that of Parliament. 

The New Whigs, led by William Pitt, were opposed to both 
the Old Whigs and the Tories. Their aim was to make Parlia- 


EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE WAR 


129 


ment really represent the people, and in view of this, they 
demanded that all the people should be represented in the 
House of Commons. “No taxation without representation,” 
the watchword of William Pitt, was reechoed in America by 
Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams in behalf of the colonies. 

According to the British constitution taxes could be imposed 
only by the representatives of the whole nation; the colonists 
insisting upon their rights as Englishmen, declared that as they 
were not represented in the Eng¬ 
lish Parliament, they could not 
be legally faxed by it. They 
were, however, not unwilling to 
contribute to the mother country 
in case the latter would permit 
them to be taxed by their own 
assemblies. 

In England some of the greatest 

! and wisest men, led by William 
Pitt, Edmund Burke, and Colonel 
Barre, supported the claims of the 
colonies. Pitt claimed that it was 
not right to tax the colonies, 
while Burke said it was not wise. 

163. The Stamp Act. Holding 
to her right to tax the colonies, 

England now passed the Stamp 
Act (1765) in order to raise money 
for the support of a standing army in the colonies. The Stamp 
Act required that all legal documents (notes, bonds, deeds, mort¬ 
gages, licenses) and newspapers must be printed on paper bear¬ 
ing government stamps, the cost of which varied from one cent 
to fifty dollars. 

This act aroused great indignation throughout the colonies. 
In the Virginia legislature, Patrick Henry declared that the 
British King had acted like a tyrant, exclaiming: “Caesar had his 







130 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Brutus, Charles the First, his Cromwell, and George the Third” 
—“Treason! Treason!” shouted one of the members. Patrick 
Henry paused a moment, and then calmly added, “may profit 
by their examples. If this be treason, make the most of it.” 

“The Sons of Liberty,” a patriotic society, was organized to 
resist the Stamp Act. Benjamin Franklin, the American agent 
at London, wrote: “The sun of liberty has set; now we must 
light the lamp of industry and economy.” The colonial women, 
forming themselves into societies called “Daughters of Liberty,” 
agreed to buy no more goods imported from England. They 
spun yarn from which they wove cloth and knitted stockings 
for the men to wear. Instead of imported tea they used dried 
raspberry leaves at their tea parties. 

164. The Stamp Act Congress. Uniting in resistance against 
the Stamp Act, twenty-eight delegates, representing nine of the 
thirteen colonies, met in New York City (1765). They framed 
and sent to the King and Parliament the “Declaration of Rights,” 
in which they acknowledged the sovereignty of the king, but 
protested against taxation without representation. 

The day on which the Stamp Act was to go into effect was 
made a day of mourning. Bells were tolled, flags were lowered, 
and business houses were closed, to indicate that liberty was 
dead. Many of the colonists refused to use the stamps, and 
some newspapers were sent out decorated with skull and cross- 
bones instead of stamps. England, seeing her mistake, now 
speedily repealed the Stamp Act (1766), but at the same time 
Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, stating that it had the 
right to make whatever law it pleased. 

165. The Townshend Acts. The Stamp Act was followed by 
the Townshend Acts (1767), so named from their author. They 
imposed taxes on glass, lead, paper, painters’ colors, and tea. 
The money thus collected was to be used to pay the salaries 
of the king’s officers in the colonies and to support a standing 
army in America. These acts were as hateful to the people as 
the Stamp Act had been, and for the same reasons—that the 


EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE WAR 


131 


colonies were determined not to be taxed except by the vote of 
their assemblies, and that they would not pay taxes which 
would deprive them of their liberties. Consequently the col¬ 
onists pledged themselves to import no English goods. They 
smuggled tea from Holland 
and other needed goods from 
France and Spain. The Mas¬ 
sachusetts assembly sent to 
other colonies a letter, which 
re-asserted the rights of the 
colonists and appealed for 
united action in opposing the 
taxes. The royal governor 
ordered Massachusetts to re¬ 
call the letter; she refused to 
do so, and her legislature was 
dissolved. Everywhere a sim¬ 
ilar spirit of opposition pre¬ 
vailed. The assemblies of 
some of the colonies who 
replied favorably to the circu¬ 
lar letter were dissolved. In 
Massachusetts, when the as¬ 
sembly was dismissed, its 
work was continued by the Boston town meeting in Faneuil 
Hall, which came to be called the “Cradle of Liberty.” When 
Faneuil Hall was too small to seat the large crowds, the meeting 
used to adjourn to the Old South Church. 

166. Boston Massacre. In October, 1768, two British regi¬ 
ments were ordered to Boston to assist in enforcing the new tax 
laws. The presence of the troops was very offensive to the 
people, and quarrels became an almost daily occurrence. One 
evening the city guard was insulted, and a fight followed, in 
which about twelve men were killed or wounded (1770). The 
day after this fight, which is known as the Boston Massacre, a 







132 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


mass meeting was held in the Old South Church. Samuel 
Adams, the Father of the Revolution, as spokesman, demanded 

that the troops be withdrawn. 
His demand was granted, and 
the soldiers were removed to 
an island in Boston harbor. 

167. The Tea Tax. Parlia¬ 
ment, alarmed by the opposi¬ 
tion of the colonists, now 
repealed all the Townshend 
tax measures except the one 
on tea (1770). This tax Par¬ 
liament imposed merely to 
show the colonies that it had 
a right to tax them. Although 
tea in America was cheaper 
than in England, the colonists 
refused to pay the tax, on the 
ground that it was not cheap tea they wanted, but untaxed tea. 
Large cargoes of tea were sent to various American ports. The 
people of New York and Philadelphia refused to allow the cargoes 
to be landed; in Charleston, tea was stored away. In Boston, 
a number of men disguised as Indians boarded the tea-ships, 
ripped open over three hundred chests of tea, valued at about 
ninety thousand dollars, and emptied the contents into the 
harbor (1773). This was known as the Boston Tea Party. 

168. The Five Intolerable Acts. To punish the people of 
Boston for their resistance to the tea tax Parliament now passed 
(1774) “The Five Intolerable Acts.” These Acts were: 

(1) The Boston Port Bill which closed the port of Boston to 
all trade until the town should pay for the tea that had 
been destroyed; 

(2) The Massachusetts Bill which annulled the charter of 
Massachusetts and gave all power to the military governor, 
General Gage; 



OLD SOUTH CHURCH 



































EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE WAR 


133 


(3) The Transportation Bill which provided that any officer 
or soldier who committed murder in Massachusetts might 
be sent to England or some other colony for trial; 

(4) The Quartering Act which provided for the lodging of 
troops upon the people; 

(5) The Quebec Act which made all the country north of the 
Ohio and east of the Mississippi a part of Canada. 

169. The First Continental Congress. The Five Intolerable 
Acts aroused the greatest indignation throughout the colonies. 
In Boston, meetings were held almost daily in Faneuil Hall and 
the Old South Church. Under the leadership of Samuel Adams 
a committee was appointed to correspond with the other towns 
of Massachusetts, in order that everyone in the colony might 
know what was happening in Boston. This would help to unite 
the people, Adams thought, causing them to resist the Acts. 
Soon there were Committees of Correspondence not only in 
Massachusetts but also in every colony. Through them each 
colony became acquainted with the views of all the others, and 
the Committees of Correspondence opened the door, as it were, 
to the First Continental Congress. This Congress, the greatest 
meeting of Americans yet held, met on September 5, 1774, in 
Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia. Fifty-five delegates represented 
all the colonies except Georgia, whose royal governor succeeded 
in preventing the appointment of representatives. 

The most important thing that the Congress did was the writ¬ 
ing of a Declaration of Rights, in which the grievances of the 
colonies and their principles of government were stated. In 
addition to this, it passed resolutions of sympathy for Massa¬ 
chusetts, declaring that should England attempt to force obe¬ 
dience in that colony, all America would support the colonists 
in their opposition; and it also fixed the date of meeting of the 
next Continental Congress (May 10, 1775). 

170. Plans for Conciliation Fail. King George and his advisers, 
hearing of the Congress, were more determined than ever to 
make America submit. Pitt petitioned for the removal of the 


134 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


British troops from Boston, and, with Franklin, prepared a plan 
for settling the difficulties between England and her colonies. 
Edmund Burke, too, spoke eloquently, pleading for the repeal of 
the oppressive acts, but all in vain. Franklin, who now saw that 
nothing could be done, hastened back to America. 

Preparations for war were now begun. Two distinct parties 
had arisen in America: the Tories, like the Tories in England, 
sided with the King and were opposed to war; the Whigs dis¬ 
approved of the King’s policy and favored war. Patrick Henry 
voiced the sentiment of the Whigs by declaring in a stirring- 
speech, which he delivered in St. John’s Church, Richmond, 
Virginia: “We must fight! We must fight! Give me liberty or 
give me death!” Volunteers were raised, one-third of whom were 
“Minute-men,” that is, men ready to march and fight at a 
minute’s notice; and stores of war materials were collected. 

Questions 

1. Why did England claim the right to make laws governing the trade ot 
the colonies? How did she attempt to restrict trade and manufacturing? 
Why did the New England merchants smuggle? Was there any connection 
between this smuggling and the Writs of Assistance? 

2. How did it happen that certain large cities in England had no repre¬ 
sentation in Parliament? Which political party opposed this condition? 
How was the struggle reflected in the colonies? 

3. Why did the British Government impose the stamp tax? What colonies 
were affected by it? What influence did this tax have upon the relations 
between the colonies? What were the Townshend Acts? What was their 
effect? Why did the English Government retain the tax on tea? What 
were the Intolerable Acts? Why were they passed? 

4. Why was the first Continental Congress assembled? How many colonies 
were represented? (Review Sections 107 and 132 to recall former steps toward 
union.) What work did the Congress do? 

5. Who were the Whigs? The Tories? What attitude did each take 
toward the English Government? 

Theme Topics 

1. Burke’s Friendship for the American Colonies. 

2. Imagine that you were one of the men who took part in the Boston Tea 
Party. Tell the class about it. 


EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE WAR 


135 





































































CHAPTER XIII 


FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR—1775-1777 

FIRST YEAR—1775 

171. Battle of Lexington. The first blood of the war was shed 
at Lexington, a small village eleven miles from Boston, on the 
highway to Concord. General Gage determined to secure the 
military stores which the patriots had collected at Concord, and 
to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock, the two men in 
Massachusetts who had done most to stir up rebellion against 
England. The King ordered Gage to arrest and send them to 

England to be tried for trea¬ 
son. 

It was rumored that the 
soldiers would be sent to seize 
the stores on the night pre¬ 
ceding April 19. General 
Joseph Warren hastily sent 
Paul Revere from Boston to 
spread the alarm, and to warn 
Adams and Hancock, who 
had escaped to Lexington. 
Revere crossed by boat to 
Charleston, where he waited until two lanterns, hung in the belfry 
of the Old North Church, gave the signal that the British were 
starting by way of the bay and the Charles River, through 
Cambridge. He now set out on his famous midnight ride, by 
way of Medford and Lexington, everywhere arousing the people. 
When he reached the house in Lexington where Hancock and 
Adams were asleep, a man on guard cried out: “Don’t make so 
much noise!” “Noise!” shouted Revere. “You’ll soon have 

136 



BOSTON AND VICINITY 



FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR 


137 



noise enough. The regulars are coming!” Adams and Hancock 
escaped, while Revere pressed on, with his startling message, 
to Concord. (Read Longfellow’s “Ride of Paul Revere.”) 

Eight hundred British soldiers, under Major Pitcairn, met 
about fifty minute-men in a skirmish at Lexington, and seven 
Americans were killed. The British, pushing on to Concord, de¬ 
stroyed what was left of the colonial supplies, and then fell back 
to Lexington under 
American fire. Here 
they were reenforced, 
but continued their 
disorderly retreat as 
far as Boston, fol¬ 
lowed all the way 
by the minute-men 
who kept firing at 
them from the shelter 
of trees, houses, and 
walls. Nearly three 
hundred of the King’s 
soldiers were left, dead 
or dying, along the 
the road, while the 
dead and wounded of 
the patriots numbered 
about ninety. 

172. Second Conti- From the painting by Gilbert Stuart 

nental Congress. The george Washington 

Second Continental 

Congress began its session on May 10, 1775, in the Old State 


House (now Independence Hall), Philadelphia. At its sessions: 
(a) it voted to raise an army of twenty thousand, the expense 
of which was to be paid by the united colonies; 

(i b ) George Washington was appointed, by unanimous vote, 
Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. 





138 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


173. Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. On the day 

that the Second Continental Congress met for the first time, a 
company of “Green Mountain Boys” from Vermont, under 
Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, surprised the British garrison 
at Fort Ticonderoga. Entering the fort in the night, Ethan 
Allen found the commander in bed. He ordered him to sur¬ 
render. “In whose name?” demanded the bewildered officer, 



SWIM* 








CRAIGIE HOUSE, THE HOME OF LONGFELLOW 

(Washington’s Headquarters, 1775) 

who had just been aroused from sleep. “In the name of the 
Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!” replied Allen. 
No resistance was attempted. 

A few days later the Americans captured Crown Point. By 
their victories at Ticonderoga and Crown Point the patriots 
gained possession of valuable military stores, and obtained 
control of Lakes Champlain and George, the water route between 
New York and Canada. 










FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR 


139 


174. Battle of Bunker Hill. General Gage, having received 
reenforcements from England, under command of Generals 
Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, now commanded at Boston a 
force of about eight thousand men. He planned to fortify 
Breed’s Hill and Bunker Hill, but was surprised to find that he 
had been out-generaled by the Americans, who had fortified 
Breed’s Hill during the night. Forces under General Howe pre¬ 
pared at once to drive the Americans from the hill. In two 
desperate attacks the British were driven back with a loss of 
one-third of their number, and only because the American 
ammunition had given out was the third assault of the British 
a success (June 17). 

The English lost more than one thousand men, the Americans 
fewer than four hundred fifty. Among those killed on 
the American side was the brave General Joseph Warren, 
commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts militia. The death 
of General Warren was the most serious loss in a single life 
during the war. The English lost Major Pitcairn. 

The Battle of Bunker Hill inspired the Americans with courage 
and hope. They learned that their troops were equal to those 
of the British army, and the English learned the same 
lesson. 

175. Washington in Charge of the Army. On July 2, 1775, 
under an elm tree (which is still standing, 1923), near Harvard 
University, Cambridge, Washington took command of the 
American army. The men he found encamped before Boston 
were poorly clad, ill-equipped, and disorderly. Washington 
spent the fall and winter in building up a strong force from these 
disorganized soldiers. In this difficult task he was helped by 
Generals Greene, Sullivan, Putnam, Gates, and others. By 
extraordinary efforts the army was brought under discipline. 
Cannon were transported from Ticonderoga; the British stores 
in the Bermudas were seized, and powder, which had been 
sorely needed, was collected from all the country towns in 
the region. 


' 140 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR—1776 

176. The British Leave Boston—Attack on Charleston Fails. 

Washington, while training his army, drew his lines closely 
around Boston. One night he seized and fortified Dorchester 
Heights; the next morning Howe, who had taken Gage’s place, 
seeing that not only his army, but also his fleet, was at the 
mercy of Washington, sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia (March). 

A British force under Clinton had left Boston with the secret 
purpose of making an attack on New York, but having failed 
in this plan, Clinton sailed south to attack Charleston. He was 
repulsed at Sullivan’s Island in Charleston harbor by the united 
forces of Colonel Moultrie and General Charles Lee. The fort 
from which Clinton’s attack was repulsed bore ever after the 
# name of its defender, Colonel Moultrie. In the heat of the battle, 
the flag of the fort was shot away, and fell outside. Sergeant 
Jasper, seeing this, cried: “Don’t let us fight without a flag!” 
and, leaping after it, seized and fastened it to a staff. Then in 
sight of the whole British fleet, amid a volley of bullets, he fixed 
it once more firmly in its place. 

177. Steps Toward Independence. Up to this time the 
majority of the colonists had hoped for a peaceful settlement 
with the mother country without a complete separation; but a 
year of war and the fact that England hired soldiers (Hessians) 
to fight against her own subjects, led the Americans to debate 
earnestly the question of independence. Thomas Paine pub¬ 
lished a pamphlet, “Common Sense,” in which he declared that 
the time had come for a final separation from England. This 
pamphlet, which was read by thousands, became a powerful in¬ 
fluence in developing the idea of independence. 

178. The Declaration of Independence. At the Congress 
which met on June 7, 1776, in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia offered the famous resolution: 
“that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free 
and independent states.” The resolution was seconded by John 


FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR 


141 


Adams of Massachusetts. On July 2 the Independence reso¬ 
lution was passed, and a committee, consisting of Thomas 
Jefferson (chairman), John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger 
Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed to draw up 
the Declaration of Independence. This Declaration was written 
by Jefferson, and adopted July 4, 1776. On this date the col¬ 
onies became free and independent states, and the Fourth of 
July has ever since been celebrated as the birthday of the nation. 
The Declaration was signed by fifty-six delegates from the 



INDEPENDENCE HALE, 1776 


various states. The signing of the Declaration of Independence 
was regarded in England as treason, a crime which was punish¬ 
able by death. John Hancock, as president of the Congress, 
was the first to attach his signature. He wrote his name in 
a bold, clear hand, saying: “There, John Bull can read that 
without spectacles, and may now double his reward of five 
hundred pounds for my head.” Then he added: “Gentlemen, 
we must all hang together.” “Yes,” replied Franklin, “or we 
shall all hang separately.” It is said that when Charles Carroll 
affixed his signature, someone, alluding to his great wealth, 



































142 


A IIISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES 


said: “There go millions;” while another remarked: “No, there 
are several Charles Carrolls,” whereupon the eminent signer 
added to his name the words: “Of Carrollton,” saying as he did 
so, “They cannot mistake me now.” Stephen Hopkins was 
afflicted with palsy; when he was writing his name a bystander 
remarked, “Your hand trembles.” The patriot answered, 
“True, but my heart does not.” 

The adoption of the Declaration of Independence caused 
great rejoicing throughout the country, except in Tory sections. 
The thirteen British colonies had ceased to exist, and in their 
place stood a new nation—The United States of America. The 
old Liberty Bell rang out the glad tidings to all the land, while 
every steeple reechoed it. In New York the excited patriots 
pulled down the leaden statue of George III, which they molded 
into bullets for the use of the army. The people realized that 
they must make good this declaration of independence by a 
desperate struggle. 

179. The Opposing Armies at New York. After the failure of 

the British in New England, they planned to gain control of 
the Middle States, in order to separate this section of the coun¬ 
try from the southern section. This could be best done by 
getting possession of New York harbor and of the water route 
to Canada by way of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. 

To carry out this plan, General Howe, who had reached 
Halifax, now sailed to New York and established his head¬ 
quarters on Staten Island, with about thirty thousand well- 
armed soldiers under his command. Washington, discovering 
the plans of the enemy, gathered his forces, about seventeen 
thousand men, at New York, to protect the city. Fort Lee and 
Fort Washington were built on opposite sides of the Hudson; 
Brooklyn Heights on Long Island was immediately fortified and 
placed under the command of General Putnam, who was one 
of the great number of recruits who had gathered at Cambridge 
after the Battle of Lexington. He had been plowing on his 
farm in Connecticut when the news of the battle reached him. 


FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR 


143 





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Leaving his plow in the furrow and his oxen free, he sprang to 
his horse and never stopped until he reached the camp at Cam¬ 
bridge. 

180. The Battle of Long Island. General Howe, who saw 
that, by securing Brooklyn Heights, he could drive Washington 



144 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


out of New York, attacked a detachment of Putnam’s army 
under Sullivan and defeated it with a heavy loss (August). 
He did not, however, follow up his victory, and Washington, 
under cover of a dense fog and burning camp fires, removed his 
entire army across East River to New York. Again, as at 
Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights, the slow-witted Howe was, 
out-generaled by Washington. 

181. Washington’s Masterly Retreat. Howe followed Wash¬ 
ington to New York, and the latter, unable to hold the city 
against the superior forces of the enemy, retreated northward 
along the east side of the Hudson to Peekskill, meeting Howe’s 
skirmishing parties at Harlem and White Plains (October). 

Washington sent Captain Nathan Hale, only twenty-one 
years of age, a school teacher by profession, to gain some infor¬ 
mation respecting the British in the city. Betrayed by an 
American Tory, Hale was captured by the enemy and executed, 
without trial, as a spy. His last words were, “I only regret that 
I have but one life to give for my country.” 

Howe, proceeding down the Hudson, attacked and captured 
Forts Lee and Washington. After this loss Washington left 
General Charles Lee to hold Peekskill, while he himself hurried 
across the Hudson to New Jersey to protect Philadelphia. The 
British, under Lord Cornwallis, also crossed the Hudson. Wash¬ 
ington now ordered Lee, who was still on the east side of the 
river, to join him; but this treacherous commander refused, and 
Washington was forced to retreat. Greatly outnumbered by 
the British, he fled rapidly before them through Newark, New 
Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton, crossing the Delaware into 
Pennsylvania. Since Washington had seized all the boats in 
reach, Cornwallis could not cross the river. General Lee, who now 
started leisurely to follow his chief into New Jersey, was cap¬ 
tured by the British; his troops, however, succeeded in joining 
Washington’s forces. Jealous of Washington, and disappointed 
in his hope of securing the latter’s position, Lee wished to see 
him fail. 


FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR 


145 


The American situation was gloomy, and discouragement 
settled on the country. Washington was constantly losing men 
by sickness and desertion, until he had not more than five 
thousand under his command, while the British army was being 
reenforced by the deserters from Washington’s army, as well as 
by numerous Tories. The British generals began to think that 
the war was near its close; Cornwallis was even packing up to 
return home. He thought that the Delaware would soon be 
bridged by ice and that he could then cross 
and capture Philadelphia, the rebel capi¬ 
tal. After this his services would no 
longer be needed in America. 

182. The Battle of Trenton. In order 
to raise the spirits of his troops and to 
remove the despair that seemed to be 
settling upon the country, Washington 
determined to attack the Hessians who 
were at Trenton. On Christmas night, in 
a blinding storm of snow and sleet, and 
amid drifting ice, he crossed the Delaware. 

Making a sudden attack, he captured 
one thousand Hessian soldiers and escaped 
to Pennsylvania with a loss of only four 

men. This victory gave fresh courage to the Americans; there¬ 
fore Cornwallis decided to remain a little longer in America. 



A H7SSIAN SOLDIER 


THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR—1777 


183. The Battle of Princeton—Sore Straits. On January 2 
Washington crossed the Delaware again and faced Cornwallis at 
Trenton. The latter remarked that now he had the “old fox” 
penned and would “bag” him in the morning. But, while a 
few of his men were making a show of throwing up earth¬ 
works, Washington, under cover of night, marched around Corn¬ 
wallis, defeated his rear guard at Princeton, and captured several 
hundred prisoners, together with a much-needed supply of 



146 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


powder and bullets. He then withdrew in safety to the Heights 
of Morristown, where he went into winter quarters. Cornwallis 
followed to Princeton, but finding that he was too late, returned 
to New York for the winter. 

Washington’s great military skill and his victories at Trenton 
and Princeton sent a thrill of joy throughout the country. But 
Washington still had many difficulties—the term of service of 
many soldiers was about to expire, and they were eager to get 

back to their homes. Worst 
of all, they had received no 
pay to send to their fam¬ 
ilies. Washington appealed 
for help to his friend, Rob¬ 
ert Morris, a very wealthy 
banker of Philadelphia, who 
promptly raised a large sum 
of money. On several other 
occasions during the war 
Morris gave money to sup¬ 
port the army. Final vic¬ 
tory would have been im¬ 
possible without the funds 
which he supplied, and, 
next to Washington, we owe 
American independence to 
the generosity of Robert 
Morris. 

184. Noble Foreigners Help America. Washington’s suc¬ 
cesses were rapidly gaining recognition abroad; as a result, the 
distinguished foreigners Marquis Lafayette, from France, 
Baron DeKalb, a German in the service of France, Baron 
Steuben, a German soldier, and the brave Poles, Pulaski and 
Kosciusko, offered to Congress their services in the American 
army. These five officers merit the lasting gratitude of the 
American people. 



ROBERT MORRIS 



FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR 


147 


CAMPAIGN IN PENNSYLVANIA 

185. The Battles of Brandywine and Germantown. After 
spending the winter at New York, Howe sailed southward, in 
June, with eighteen thousand men. Washington, too, hurried 
south, and the armies met in battle at Brandywine Creek. The 
Americans were defeated by the superior number of the British 





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troops, but Washington withdrew his army in good order to 
Philadelphia. Washington was unable to defend the city and 
Howe entered it in triumph, a week after the battle of Brandy¬ 
wine. The British then went into winter quarters there and also 
at Germantown. The noble foreign officers, Lafayette, De Kalb, 
and Pulaski, showed great bravery during the campaign in 
Pennsylvania. 




148 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


In October, Washington surprised the British at Germantown, 
but failed to capture the town because of a dense fog which 
caused confusion in his own ranks. The Americans now made 
their winter camp at Valley Forge, twenty miles from Philadel¬ 
phia. 

CAMPAIGN IN NEW YORK-BURGOYNE’S INVASION 

186. Plan of the Campaign. In 1777 the British planned to 
get control of the entire Hudson River. Their plan for accom¬ 
plishing this was threefold: 

(a) Burgoyne was to come down from Canada by way of Lake 

Champlain and the Hudson; 

(b) St. Leger was to ascend the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, 

and finally join Burgoyne on the Hudson; 

(c) Howe was to march along the Hudson, capture the American 

forts, and join Burgoyne and St. Leger at Albany. 

Howe, who had spent two months on the way from New York 
to Pennsylvania, was delayed for two additional months near 
Philadelphia, and thus was not able to carry out his part of 
the plan. 

187. Capture of Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and Edward. To 

carry out his part of the campaign, General Burgoyne ascended 
the Sorel River and Lake Champlain with an army of about 
eight thousand men. In July he captured Forts Crown Point, 
Ticonderoga, and Edward, thus making a brilliant beginning. 
Very soon, however, he met with great difficulties. The country 
was swampy and heavily wooded, and Schuyler, who had been 
defeated at Ticonderoga and Crown Point because he could not 
hold the forts against the superior number of Burgoyne’s troops, 
now greatly slowed up the progress of the latter by felling trees 
across the roads and destroying bridges. Burgoyne, moreover, 
had no supplies with him. They had to be sent to him from 
Canada, and the farther he advanced, the more difficult it was 
to procure them for his army. 


FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR 


149 


188. The Battle of Oriskany. In the meantime St. Leger 
had succeeded in getting as far as Oriskany, near Fort Stanwix, 
where he met a small American army under General Herkimer. 
The British and Americans here fought one of the bloodiest 
battles of the war, the result of which was indecisive. Later, by 
a stratagem of Arnold, who had come with reenforcements, the 
British were driven from the fort. 

189. The Battle of Bennington. Learning that the Americans 
had stored some provisions and military supplies at the village 
of Bennington, Vermont, Burgoyne 
sent a force to capture them. To en¬ 
courage his soldiers, General Stark, 
the American officer, before the 
opening of the battle, exclaimed: 

“My fellow soldiers, we must con¬ 
quer today or Molly Stark is a 
widow.” His Vermont soldiers 
fought well and defeated the British. 

190. The Battle of Bemis Heights. 

Burgoyne now found himself 
hemmed in by the rapidly increasing 
American forces under General 
Gates, who had replaced Schuyler. 

He crossed the Hudson and strug¬ 
gled onward down the west bank of 
the river toward the Mohawk, hoping to hear from either Howe 
or St. Leger. He met the Americans under Arnold and Morgan 
in the battle at Bemis Heights (September). The battle was 
undecided, but was followed by the defeat of the British at 
Stillwater, a little to the south of Bemis Heights. 

Gates took no direct part in these battles and was not actually 
present on the field. He was a weak general of little ability, 
and the action of Congress in displacing Schuyler, against the 
wishes of Washington, has been generally considered unwise. 





CONTINENTAL ARTILLERY 














150 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


191. Burgoyne’s Surrender at Saratoga—Results. The Amer¬ 
ican forces, step by step, drove Burgoyne back to Saratoga, 
where, cut off from all supplies and almost completely sur¬ 
rounded by the American army, he surrendered to General 
Gates on October 17, after a desperate battle. His army of 
six thousand men laid down their arms. The third and last plan 
to gain control of the Hudson had ended in failure. 

Though the surrender was made to General Gates, the credit 
of the victory belonged, first, to General Schuyler, because he 
had previously made the plans for managing the campaign, and, 
next, to the gallant leadership of Arnold and Morgan. 

France now recognized the United States as an independent 
power. A treaty of alliance was made, France sending troops 
and a fleet to aid the Americans, and the colonies pledging not 
to make peace with England until the mother country acknowl¬ 
edged them as an independent nation. This treaty caused a war 
between France and England. King George III offered to grant 
the Americans almost anything they might demand except 
independence, but the Americans would accept nothing but 
independence. 

192. The Articles of Confederation. At the same time that 
the Declaration of Independence was framed, a committee had 
been appointed to draw up a plan of government for the new 
nation. This plan, called the Articles of Confederation, was 
adopted by Congress in 1777 and by the State Assemblies 
between 1776 and 1781. By these Articles, or laws, the colonies 
were governed from 1781 until the Constitution was adopted in 
1789. 

Questions 

1. Why did the British Army move against Lexington? What were the 
results? What work was done by the Second Continental Congress? Why 
do we remember Ethan Allen? Show on the map why Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point were important forts. What were the results of the Battle of 
Bunker Hill? 

2. When was the Declaration of Independence signed? Which are the 
most serious grievances complained of in the Declaration? 


FIRST PERIOD OF TEE WAR 


151 


3. Why did the British plan to capture New York? What were the results 
of the fighting there? On the map trace the retreat of the Americans from 
New York to Pennsylvania. Why was the victory of Trenton important? 

4. What Europeans became interested in American success? What service 
did Robert Morris give? 

5. Why did Howe approach Philadelphia from the direction of Brandywine 
Creek? Locate Valley Forge. 

6. Show on the map the British campaign planned for 1777. Was it suc¬ 
cessful? What were the results of the alliance with France? 

Theme Topics 

1. Tell the story of Paul Revere’s ride. 

2. Write a short theme on the Battle of Bunker Hill. 


CHAPTER XIV 


SECOND PERIOD OF THE WAR—1777-1781 
FOURTH YEAR OF THE WAR—1778 



193. The Hardships at Valley Forge. While Howe and his 
soldiers were having an easy time in their winter quarters at 
Philadelphia, Washington and his army at Valley Forge were 
bravely struggling through the gloomiest season of the war. 
Owing to mismanagement by Congress and the Commissary 
Department (whose chief duty was to provide food and clothes 
for the army), the soldiers were poorly fed, clothed, and housed. 
But Washington’s courage during that winter of terrible suffering 
inspired those about him. In spite of the hardships, he suc¬ 
ceeded in enlisting many regiments to serve during the entire 
war. These new soldiers, called Continentals, were trained by 
Baron Steuben, who taught them how to shoot straight and to 
use the bayonet. By spring the disorderly recruits were organ¬ 
ized into a well-trained army. 

A touching story is told of Washington at Valley Forge. One 
day while Mr. Potts, Washington’s host, passed through the 
woods, his attention was attracted by the sound of an earnest 

152 





SECOND PERIOD OF THE WAR 


153 



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voice. Upon approaching, Potts discovered the sorrow-bur¬ 
dened commander-in-chief on his knees, praying with tearful 
eyes. Potts related the incident to his wife, adding, “Under 
such a commander, the Americans will surely secure their 
independence.” 

194. The Conway Cabal. In addition to Washington’s trials 
at Valley Forge, a conspiracy was formed against him. Jealous 
and ambitious men, who envied his fame, tried to have him 
removed from the army and to have Gates take his place. 
The movement, known as the Conway Cabal, from one of its 
leaders, not only proved a failure in its purpose, but served 
rather to raise Washington higher than ever in the esteem of 
his countrymen and to make his position stronger. 

195. British Troops Withdraw 
from Philadelphia. When the 
British learned that a French fleet 
was sailing for the American coast, 
Clinton, who had succeeded Howe, 
withdrew his troops from Philadel¬ 
phia and hastened to reenforce the 
army in New York. 

196. The Battle of 
Monmouth. Washing¬ 
ton followed Clinton 
across New Jersey 
and attacked him 
at Monmouth Court 
House on June 28, 
but was prevented 
from winning a de¬ 
cisive victory by the 
treachery of General 
Charles Lee, who, instead of making an attack upon the enemy, 
ordered his troops to retreat. Washington checked the retreat, 
but he could not hinder Clinton from reaching New York. 










154 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


197. Beginnings of Kentucky and Tennessee. While the 

American armies were fighting to win independence, explorers 
were still pushing westward and opening up new land. The 
territory north of the Ohio, between the Mississippi and the 
Alleghanies, was claimed by various colonies, on the authority 
of their original charters. A North Carolina hunter, Daniel 
Boone, with his family, began a settlement in Kentucky (1775), 
calling it Boonesboro. Other settlers followed him from Vir¬ 
ginia and North Carolina. About the same time that Boone 
went to Kentucky, pioneers from North Carolina settled Ten¬ 
nessee, first on the Watauga River, and then at the present site 
of Nashville. Before the settlers could occupy the land, they 
had to conquer the Indians. James Robertson and John Sevier 
were two of the famous leaders under whose command the 
Cherokee Indians were defeated. 

198. Indian Massacres. Horrible massacres by the Iroquois, 
which were encouraged by the British, occurred about this time 
in Pennsylvania and New York. General Sullivan, who was 
sent to punish the Indians, destroyed their crops and villages. 
In the winter following, the intense cold, together with starva¬ 
tion and disease, finished the work of destruction, and the power 
of the Indians in this section was broken forever. 

199. Clark’s Conquest of the Northwest. The British com¬ 
mander at Detroit planned to stir up the Indians of the West 
to attack the whole frontier and wipe out the new settlements. 
The governor of Virginia sent Major George Rogers Clark to 
seize the British posts between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. 
He first conquered the English forces at Kaskaskia and Cahokia. 
The French settlers, who made up a good part of the population, 
being influenced by Father Gibault, readily submitted. Clark 
next made friends with the Spanish at St. Louis, opposite 
Cahokia, and then advanced to Vincennes, the most important 
British post of the region. Through the friendly services of 
Father Gibault, Vincennes, too, yielded peaceably. Thus the 
Americans secured control of the whole Northwest, from Penn- 


SECOND PERIOD OF THE WAR 


155 


sylvania to the Mississippi, and from the Great Lakes to the 
Ohio. Next to Clark, the United States is indebted to the 
kindly services of Father Gibault for the addition of the North¬ 
west Territory to the country. This good Father was for a long 
time the only priest in Illinois and Indiana. At the time of 
Clark’s conquest of the Northwest, he not only persuaded the 
French as well as the Catholic Indians to submit without pro¬ 
test, but also encouraged them to support the American cause. 
He administered to them, in his own church, the oath of alle¬ 
giance to Congress and blessed the arms of the volunteers in 
the war. 

200. The British Make a New Plan for the War. In the 

meantime the English were renewing their efforts to defeat the 
colonies. They formed, in the latter part of 1778, a new plap 
for conquering America. The British army, starting at the 
South, was to move northward and cut off one state after 
another. 

The British, under General Clinton, captured Savannah in 
December. A little later General Prevost, leading his forces 
northward from Florida, conquered the rest of Georgia. The 
new plan seemed to be working out well. 

FIFTH YEAR OF THE WAR—1779 

201. The Capture of Stony Point. Washington had begun to 
build forts on the Hudson River at Stony and Verplanck Points. 
Before Stony Point was completed, however, the British cap¬ 
tured it, and Washington sent General Wayne to win it back. 
Wayne, who was called “Mad Anthony,” because of his brilliant 
successes, became the popular hero of the Revolution. With 
the countersign, “The fort is ours,” which he had accidentally 
learned, he deceived the sentinel and entered the fort with 
a force of picked men who had been trained by Steuben (July). 

202. Privateering. England had little to fear from our navy, 
but she suffered much from American privateers (private vessels 
armed with guns or cannon). During the Revolution more than 


156 


• A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


seven hundred of these ships plowed the waters of the English 
Channel, the Irish Sea, and of many others part of the world, 
capturing six hundred British vessels, valued at many million 
dollars. As a result, so much harm was done to England’s 
shipping that her ship-owners and merchants bitterly opposed 
the war, while the colonies were supporting their forces from 
captured British goods. 

203. Exploits of John Barry. Captain John Barry, a native 
of Ireland and a Catholic, was one of the truest heroes of the 

Revolution. He was 
distinguished for his 
skill in equipping and 
handling vessels, as 
well as for his bravery. 
He was commissioned 
early, and command¬ 
ed the Lexington and 
the Alfred. As com¬ 
mander of the Lexing¬ 
ton , Barry captured 
the British man-of- 
war Edward. He 
fought battles every¬ 
where along the coast, 
inflicting such heavy 
losses on the enemy 
that in 1794 Congress 
placed him at the head 
of the commanders in 
the navy. He was the 
first to hold the rank 
of commodore. He is justly called the “Father and Founder of 
the American Navy.” 

204. Paul Jones’s Triumph. John Paul Jones, a lieutenant in 
the navy, won for America the greatest triumph on the sea. 



CAPTAIN JOHN BARRY 



SECOND PERIOD OF THE WAR 


157 


In his little ship Ranger (1778) he constantly attacked British 
vessels; at one time he would dash in and set fire to a ship at 
anchor; at another, pounce down upon a vessel at sea, and then 
again, like a gust of wind, whirl about and be off, out of harm’s 
reach. With the help of Franklin and the French king, Louis 
XVI, Jones was at length placed in command of a small squadron 
of three vessels. To his flagship he gave the name of Bon 


A, 



A SEA FIGHT OF THE PERIOD 


Homme Richard. With the American flag flying from its mast¬ 
head, he set sail with his little squadron and met in September, 
at Flamborough Head, two English men-of-war, the Serapis and 
the Scarborough. He at once gave chase and coming up to the 
Serapis, lashed her and his own ship together. After a deadly 
hand-to-hand fight which raged far into the night, the Serapis 
surrendered. Meanwhile the Scarborough had been captured by 
one of the other ships. This battle was one of the most des- 






















































































158 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


perate ever fought upon the ocean, and it greatly humiliated 
England, “the proud Mistress of the Sea.” 





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SECOND PERIOD OF THE WAR 


159 


SIXTH YEAR OF THE WAR—1780 

205. The British Take Charleston. In May Clinton and 
Cornwallis, together with Prevost, moved against Charleston, 
which they bombarded. Benjamin Lincoln, who commanded 
the American forces in the South, held the city. He was cut off 
from escape and was forced to surrender, with about three 
thousand continentals. The capture of Lincoln’s army, the 
severest blow the Americans had yet received, left South Car¬ 
olina in the hands of Lord Cornwallis. 

206. The Battle of Camden. Congress now recalled Gates 
and placed him in command of the Southern army. He hastily 
collected a new army in North Carolina, including De Kalb 
and his brave continentals. In August he advanced to Camden, 
where he met Cornwallis and was badly defeated. De Kalb fell, 
mortally wounded, while his comrades fought in vain to hold 
their ground. Gates, after a number of blunders, rode panic- 
stricken from the field, leaving the army to its fate. This was 
the second American army destroyed in the South in three 
months, and the whole section was practically in the hands of the 
British. After his cowardly act Gates retired from the service 
in disgrace. 

207. The Battle of King’s Mountain. Cornwallis now pushed 
on toward North Carolina, but hearing that one of his officers, 
Major Ferguson, had been defeated in a battle at King’s Moun¬ 
tain (October) by a body of backwoodsmen, he returned to 
South Carolina in order to maintain control of the South. The 
American victory at King’s Mountain greatly crippled Corn¬ 
wallis, for in it he lost some four hundred of his men, including 
Ferguson, one of the bravest of the British officers. 

208. Exploits of the Partisan Corps. South Carolina, Georgia, 
and Florida were in the hands of the British and at the mercy 
of the British Tories; but the state militia under the heroic 
leaders, Marion, Sumter, Pickens, and Henry Lee gave the 
British little peace. These citizen soldiers, composing small 


160 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


bands of patriots, often less than one hundred men, were called 
“partisan corps.” Their way of fighting surprised the British 
even more than that used by the minute-men at Lexington and 
Concord. Armed with home-made swords, they rode the fastest 
horses, hid in swamps and mountains, and seldom slept two 
nights in the same place. They would destroy a Tory camp, cut 
off the stragglers from the main army, dash pellmell into the 
enemy's quarters, and be off, safe and sound in a distant hiding 
place almost before anjmne knew what had happened. Marion, 
who was called by the British “the swamp fox,” became partic¬ 
ularly famous. Sumter, equally daring, was considered by 
Cornwallis “the greatest plague in the country.” 

209. Arnold's Treason. To complete the year of disaster, 
Benedict Arnold, who had won distinction at Ticonderoga, 
Quebec, and Saratoga, deserted the patriot cause and became a 
traitor. He secretly agreed to surrender West Point to Clinton 
for a reward of thirty thousand dollars and a general’s com¬ 
mission in the British army. Since it controlled the whole line 
of the Hudson, it was the most important post in the country. 

After the withdrawal of Clinton from Philadelphia, Wash¬ 
ington had given the command of the city to Arnold, who here 
lived very extravagantly. Finally he was court-martialed for 
the misuse of government money, found guilty of impru¬ 
dence, and sentenced to be publicly reprimanded by the com- 
mander-in-chief. Washington, however, mindful of Arnold’s 
brilliant deeds in the service of his country, performed the un¬ 
pleasant duty with great gentleness, sparing Arnold’s feeling as 
much as possible, and giving him high praise. 

Nevertheless Arnold, feeling that he had been mistreated, 
planned revenge. Pretending that the severe wounds received 
at Quebec and Saratoga unfitted him for field duty, he asked and 
obtained from Washington the command of West Point. He 
now saw his opportunity; he met the British agent, Major 
Andre, some distance south of West Point and made arrange¬ 
ments for the surrender of the fort. 


SECOND PERIOD OF THE WAR 


161 


The traitor escaped and was given a command in the British 
army. After the war he lived in England and was universally 
despised. Arnold carefully preserved his old uniform in which 
he had made his escape from West Point, and just before his 
death he asked to be clothed in it. “Let me die,” said he, “in 
this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God for¬ 
give me for ever putting on any other.” 

210. The Capture of Andre. Major Andre, after having made 
arrangements with Arnold for the surrender of West Point, 
prepared to return to the British camp. He found that his ship, 
the Vulture , had floated down the river, and he was obliged to 
cross the stream and proceed by land. Near Tarrytown he 
was captured by the Americans. Upon searching Andre they 
found in his stockings papers containing plans of the fort. 
Andre was tried and hanged as a spy (October) according to the 
rules of warfare. 


SEVENTH YEAR OF THE WAR—1781 

211. The Beginning of Winning Back the South—The Battle 
of Cowpens. The American victory at King’s Mountain was 
the beginning of the winning back of the South. By the advice 
of Washington, General Nathanael Greene was now appointed 
to succeed General Gates in the South. With the aid of Daniel 
Morgan, Steuben, and the leaders of the “partisan corps,” and 
with the remnant of De Kalb’s continentals as a nucleus, 
Greene succeeded in raising a third army in the South. He 
now sent General Morgan against Tarleton, Cornwallis’s ablest 
officer. The two armies met, in January, at Cowpens, South 
Carolina, where Morgan not only defeated Tarleton’s army, but 
nearly destroyed it. 

212. Greene’s Masterly Retreat. Morgan, with his prisoners, 
hurried off and joined General Greene in North Carolina. When 
Cornwallis pursued the victors across the Carolinas, Greene led 
him far away from his base of supplies at Charleston, and finally 
made a narrow escape across the Dan into Virginia. Here 


162 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Cornwallis gave up the chase; Greene promptly gathered addi¬ 
tional troops, recrossed the Dan into North Carolina, and 
fought the British near Guilford Court House, in a battle that 
proved a defeat for the Americans, but was at the same time a 
costly victory for the British. 

After this battle, Cornwallis withdrew to Wilmington where 
communication with the English fleet at Charleston would be 
easy. From here he was shortly afterward ordered by Clinton 



CONTINENTAL CURRENCY 


to the peninsula of Yorktown, Virginia, which he proceeded to 
fortify. 

213. Greene’s Recovery of the South. Greene had followed 
Cornwallis far enough to see him closed up in Wilmington. 
Then sure of having him out of the way, he marched farther 
south, and with the help of Marion, Sumter, and Lee, drove 
the British and Tories before him toward Charleston. After 
this Greene won many small victories with the help of Lee 
and Marion, and within thirteen months he had recovered the 
Carolinas and Georgia from British rule. 

214. Cornwallis Entrapped at Yorktown—Siege of Yorktown. 
Washington, hearing that a powerful French fleet was coming 
toward Chesapeake Bay, saw his opportunity. His army on 
the Hudson had been reenforced by six thousand French troops 





SECOND PERIOD OF THE WAR 


163 


under Count Rochambeau. Leaving behind a small force, 
Washington secretly slipped away to the head of Chesapeake 
Bay. From there the French fleet carried the army to York- 
town, where Washington joined Lafayette before Clinton knew 
what had happened. The French fleet at once blocked the 
James and York Rivers, and Cornwallis was shut up in a trap. 
For several weeks the Americans bombarded the British works. 
Escape by sea or land being impossible for Cornwallis, he and 
his whole army, about eight thousand strong, surrendered to 
Washington on October 19, 1781. The fall of Yorktown prac¬ 
tically ended the War of Independence. 

215. The Scene of Surrender. A large crowd of citizens as¬ 
sembled to witness the scene of surrender. The troops were 
drawn up in two columns extending more than a mile. On 
the one side were the French forces, headed by Rochambeau, 
on the other, Washington and his continentals. The conquered 
army, with colors cased, slowly marched out between the ranks 
while the British military band played the quaint melody, “The 
World Upside Down.” Cornwallis, pretending that he was ill, 
did not appear, but sent his sword by General O’Hara. Wash¬ 
ington ordered that the sword be delivered to General Lincoln, 
who, eighteen months before, had surrendered his to Clinton 
at Charleston. The defeated army was next led by Lincoln to 
an open field where they laid down their arms. 

The news of this important event reached Congress at mid¬ 
night, four days afterwards. Every heart bounded with joy 
as the watchman pacing the streets of Philadelphia cried aloud, 
“Past two o’clock and Cornwallis is taken!” The streets were 
soon thronged with happy men and women. The State House 
bell rang out its notes of gladness. 

To the English government the news came like a death blow, 
for the victory of Yorktown meant not only the independence of 
America, but also the overthrow of the power of the King in 
England. The King was soon compelled to dismiss his Tory 
prime minister, Lord North, and call back to power those very 


164 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Whigs who were friends of America. Among them were Fox, 
the younger Pitt, Barre, and Burke. 

216. The Treaty of Peace. A treaty of peace was signed 
with England by the United States, France, and Spain, at Paris, 
on September 3, 1783. Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and John 
Adams signed it for America. By this treaty: 

(а) The United States was recognized as an independent nation; 

(б) the boundaries fixed were the Great Lakes and the St, 

Lawrence on the north, the Mississippi on the west, and 
Florida on the south; 

(c) Florida was given to Spain. 

Questions 

1. What pioneers explored the West during the early years of the Revo¬ 
lutionary War? What territory was added to the United States by the work 
of George Rogers Clark? Compare the extent of this territory with the 
thirteen original colonies. 

2. Why do we remember General Wayne? John Barry? Paul Jones? 

3. What was the “Partisan Corps”? How did General Greene win back 
the South? 

4. How did Washington hasten the surrender of Cornwallis? What part 
did France play? What were the terms of the treaty of 1783? 

Theme Topics 

1. The Capture of Kaskaskia. 

2. Father Gibault at Vincennes. 


CHAPTER XV 

THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY—1781-1789 
THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 

217. Defects of Government Under the Articles of Confed¬ 
eration. The critical period of our history is that extending 
from the siege of Yorktown in 1781 to the adoption of the 
Constitution in 1789. The thirteen states had won their inde¬ 
pendence, but the new nation had many difficulties to overcome. 
The Articles of Confederation under which the colonies were 
governed during this period did not make them a nation, but 
merely formed them into a league of states, each with its own 
independent government. How to make permanent the bless¬ 
ings obtained by the recent long and bloody struggle was the 
great problem that remained to be solved. 

Under the Articles, Congress had little power. It could make 
laws on a few subjects, but it had no power to enforce them. It 
could not levy taxes, but could only make “requisitions” on the 
states which it had no power to collect. Revenue could not be 
raised, and therefore the debts of the nation could not be paid. 
As a result the government had no credit, and could not regulate 
commerce. In fact, Congress could merely recommend or 
advise, possessing only such powers as the states gave it. 

218. Disunion Among the States. During the war, the bond 
of a common cause had united the colonies. When the war was 
over, the old jealousies and conflicting interests returned. The 
states quarreled with each other about boundary lines, about 
commerce, about trade; and the same spirit that made them de¬ 
sire to be free from the mother country made them distrust Con¬ 
gress and shrink from giving it authority. Naturally distrust 

165 


166 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


and discontent grew worse and worse. The thirteen states were 
' fast drifting apart and becoming thirteen hostile nations. 

It is not to be thought, however, that the people were with¬ 
out government during this time. All the states adopted new 
constitutions (1775-1781) except Rhode Island and Connecticut, 
which retained their liberal colonial charters. But each con¬ 
stitution created a complete government for the state, making 
no provision for uniting the thirteen states. 

219. Defects in the Confederation. There were three main 
defects in the Confederation which soon proved so serious that 
they forced the people to realize the need of a stronger national 
government. These defects were: 

(а) Congress could not pay the debts which it incurred; 

(б) it could not regulate trade; 

(c) it lacked the authority to preserve order. 

220. Drift Toward Monarchy Because Congress Cannot Pay 
National Debts. Congress, as we have seen, having no power to 
levy taxes, could not pay the country’s debts. The large sums 
borrowed from foreign nations were soon spent, while paper 
money was almost worthless. The unpaid, poverty-stricken 
soldiers with their families suffered most because of this weakness 
of the government. The army plotted against the government, 
and was ready to take up arms against Congress, but Washing¬ 
ton prevented this. The soldiers then tried to make Washington 
king—a step that would have established a monarchy, the form 
of government against which they had rebelled and from which 
they had fought so long to free themselves. Washington refused 
their offer, rebuking them for such folly. 

221. Commerce Suffers Because Congress Cannot Regulate 
Trade. Great Britain refused to make a commercial treaty 
with America, because she knew that any state might break a 
treaty. She closed her West India ports against American 
merchants and imposed a high duty on American imports. 
Congress, without power to regulate trade, could not levy duties 
on English goods. In this unequal state of affairs, American 


THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY 


167 


shipbuilding and foreign commerce were almost destroyed. Our 
domestic trade also suffered. The states by their navigation 
laws and high tariffs were making commercial war upon one 
another. New York, for instance, taxed the products coming to its 
markets from Connecticut and New Jersey, while New Jersey 
levied a tax of some eighteen hundred dollars upon a lighthouse 
built by New York City at Sandy Hook. Similar troubles arose 
between other states. Under these conditions the United States 
was rapidly losing its standing abroad. 

222. Difficulties Arising from the Fact That Congress Can¬ 
not Preserve Order. Congress did not have the command of a 
single soldier, and could not protect even itself from insult; it 
was driven from Philadelphia on one occasion by a band of 
mutinous soldiers. Naturally it had no power to protect the 
rights of citizens. 

After the Revolution, our imports had to be paid for in specie 
(that is, actual coin—usually gold or silver). The country’s 
imports were so much more than its exports that it had soon 
spent most of its gold and silver. Owing to this scarcity of 
specie and the worthlessness of paper money, the people found 
it impossible to pay their taxes and debts. Their lands, cattle, 
and products were taken for taxes and mortgages, while the 
debtors themselves were thrown into prison. In almost every 
state the debtor classes tried to find ways of freeing themselves 
from their debts. Some demanded the issue of paper money, 
while others demanded the so-called Stay Laws, to delay the 
collection of debts. Still others demanded Tender Laws, which 
permitted a debtor to offer goods, at certain rates, in payment 
of his debts. 

Shays’s Rebellion was another outcome of the inability of 
Congress to preserve order. In western Massachusetts several 
hundred angry farmers, under Daniel Shays, a captain of the 
Revolutionary War, rose in insurrection. They sought to close 
the court houses and to stop law suits against debtors, and even 
tried to seize the arsenal at Springfield for the purpose of secur- 


168 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ing muskets and cannon. After some months the rebellion 
was subdued by the state militia. 

223. A National Land System Forms a Bond of Union Be¬ 
tween the States. Seven of the thirteen states claimed the 
country as far west as the Mississippi, whereas the remaining 
six states, having fixed western boundaries, could not claim 
any part of these western lands. Four of these seven states 
—Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Virginia— 
claimed the Northwest Territory, the stretch of country between 
the Ohio and the Great Lakes and between the Alleghanies 
and the Mississippi, which had been won by Clark’s conquest. 
In these conflicting claims, which led to bitter disputes, Mary¬ 
land took a leading part, refusing to ratify the Articles of Con¬ 
federation until these states should give up all their claims to 
the national government for the common good. 

After long and heated discussions, New York finally yielded 
her claims. Following her example, the remaining six states, one 
by one, withdrew their claims. The common possession of the 
Northwest Territory did much to hold the states together, 
and in securing national control Maryland had done the nation 
a great service. 

224. The Ordinance of 1787. Now that the Northwest Terri¬ 
tory belonged to the country as a whole, many New Englanders 
wanted to settle in the present state of Ohio. The Congress 
of the Confederation, in one of its last and best acts, passed 
the famous Ordinance of 1787. This measure provided for the 
government of the Northwest Territory, which was to be divided 
into five sections. In each state education was to be encour¬ 
aged, religious freedom granted, and slavery prohibited. 

225. First Steps Toward a National Convention. Virginia 
and Maryland, wishing to come to some agreement concerning 
the use of Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac, sent their delegates 
for this purpose to Alexandria (1785). These delegates wisely 
concluded that since the states trading with Virginia and 
Massachusetts would be affected by such a commercial treaty, 


THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY 


169 


all the states ought to take part and help to frame some general 
laws for the regulation of trade. Therefore a circular letter 
was sent to all the states inviting them to join in a great trade 
convention to be held in the following year at Annapolis. 

Since delegates from only five states (Virginia, Delaware, 
Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey) responded to the 
call, nothing final could be accomplished. It was clear also 
that even if all the states should agree on laws for regulating 
trade,-such laws would be 
of no avail without a cen¬ 
tral authority to enforce 
them. So, before ad¬ 
journing, the delegates 
agreed on a resolution, 
written by Alexander 
Hamilton, which proposed 
that Congress call a great 
national convention, to be 
held in Philadelphia, for 
the purpose of amending 
the Articles of Confeder¬ 
ation. 

226. The Convention 
Frames and Adopts the 
Constitution. The Con¬ 
vention met in Philadel¬ 
phia on May 25, 1787. Fifty-five delegates, the ablest men of 
the states, who had been steadily at work trying to bring unity 
to the nation, attended the convention. The assembly remained 
in secret session almost four months. Dissatisfied with the old 
Articles of Confederation, the delegates decided to do away with 
them, and to frame an entirely new Constitution. This was 
a very bold resolve, since the states had sent their delegates with 
the understanding that the Articles of Confederation were to be 
revised. Four plans of government were offered by the dele- 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON 




170 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


gates. After many stormy debates and compromises, the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States was framed and adopted by the 
convention (September 17, 1787). Thirty-nine of the fifty-five 
delegates signed the document. The other sixteen would not 
sign, objecting to certain clauses which they believed interfered 
with the rights of the states. 

227. The Constitution, a Series of Compromises. The Con¬ 
stitution was a series of compromises between the larger and 
the smaller states; between the Federalists, who upheld the 
Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists, who opposed its adoption; 
and between the North and the South. It was chiefly on the 
basis of the following four compromises that the Constitution 
was adopted by the convention: 

(a) The Connecticut compromise, which provided for equal 

representation in the Senate, was framed to satisfy the 
small states; while to pacify the large states, represen¬ 
tation in the House of Representatives was to be propor¬ 
tioned to the population, and all bills for raising money 
were to arise in this House; 

(b) to please the South, five negroes were to be counted as 

equal to three white persons in determining the represen¬ 
tation; while to favor the North the same proportion of 
negro population was to be considered for direct taxation; 

(c) to please the South, the foreign slave trade was to con¬ 

tinue without interference for twenty years (1808). No 
duties were ever to be paid on exports. To please the 
North, Congress should have power to regulate com¬ 
merce by a majority vote, instead of a two-thirds vote; 

(d) to satisfy the Federalists, the President was vested with 

great power. He was entrusted with the enforcement of 
all laws and was made commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy. The Anti-Federalists were pacified by a pro¬ 
vision in the Constitution for checking the authority of 
the chief executive in numerous ways, in case he should 
try to abuse his trust. 


THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY 


171 


228. The Plan of the Constitution. According to the Con¬ 
stitution the government was divided into three departments: 

(а) the legislative, or law-making power, vested in Congress; 

(б) the judiciary, or law-interpreting power, vested in the 

Supreme Court and inferior courts; 

(c) the executive, or law-enforcing power, vested in a Presi¬ 
dent, a Vice-president, and other officers. 

Congress was to consist of two Houses: the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, elected by the people, and the Senate, elected by the 
state legislatures. 

229. The States Ratify the Constitution. Congress submitted 
the Constitution to the states for ratification. The people of 
each state chose delegates to conventions which should accept 
or reject the new plan of government. 

Great excitement and stirring discussions for and against 
the Constitution at once arose and divided the people into two 
parties. The Federalists were led by Washington, Madison 
and Hamilton. The Anti-Federalists were led by the brilliant 
statesmen Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and John 
Hancock. They were jealous of Congress fearing that too much 
national power might lead to the establishment of a monarchy. 
The Federalists and Anti-Federalists were our first political 
parties. 

Within a year (before August, 1788) all the states except 
Rhode Island and North Carolina adopted the Constitution. 
These two states, which were treated as foreign nations, soon 
came to terms (1789-1790). Some of the states ratified the 
Constitution in the hope that amendments guaranteeing pro¬ 
tection to the life, liberty, and property of the people, and 
securing them against the perils which existed before the war 
would be added. 

The new Constitution when ratified by eleven states was pre¬ 
sented to theCongress of the Confederation (September 20,1788), 
then sitting in the City Hall in New York. This body declared 
it ratified, and ordered that the government under it should go 


172 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


into effect March 4, 1789, in the city of New York. With this 
act the Congress of the Confederation closed its last session. 

230. The Constitution—Bill of Rights. The Constitution of 
the United States may be defined as a written document, 
explaining how our government is organized and what powers 
the various parts have. The government under the Constitution 
was far stronger than the one it replaced. The national govern¬ 
ment was no longer dependent upon the wishes of the various 
states, but was supreme in all that concerned the nation at 
large. It had the sole power to coin money, regulate commerce, 
fix weights and measures, declare war, and negotiate treaties 
with foreign nations. Each state, however, still had much 
power; it had control over all its individual affairs, and could 
exercise all powers of government not given by the Constitution 
to the national government. The purpose and provisions of 
the Constitution are set forth in its preamble. (See Appendix.) 

As framed and adopted by the thirteen original states, the 
Constitution was the same that we still have, with the excep¬ 
tion of some nineteen amendments (1923). The new Congress, 
organized after the adoption of the Constitution, submitted 
(1789) to the state legislatures twelve amendments, ten of 
which were ratified in 1791 and added to the Constitution as 
the Bill of Rights. These amendments may be regarded as a 
part of the original Constitution. 

231. Washington Chosen as First President. In the first 
presidential election (1789), George Washington was unani¬ 
mously chosen President. The people of the country looked 
upon him as the greatest man in the United States, and they 
believed that no one else could better guide the affairs of the 
new nation. John Adams was chosen Vice-president. 

232. Patriotism Among Catholics. We have seen that the 
discovery and exploration of America and the christianizing 
and civilizing of the Indians were chiefly Catholic enterprises; 
also that the colonial times were dark and intolerant for Cath¬ 
olics. The opposition of the colonies to the Quebec Act proved 


THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY' 


173 


plainly that the old anti-Catholic prejudices were still very 
much alive. During the war, however, the colonial Catholics, 
forgetting the many wrongs of the past, unanimously supported 
the patriot cause, distinguishing themselves not only in the army 
and navy, but also in council halls and legislatures. In the 
day of trial the Catholic faith proved the grandeur of its prin¬ 
ciples. It produced no. traitors, no oppressors of their country. 
After the American alliance with Catholic France, the law 
excluding Catholics from civil rights was repealed. With this 
event dawned a new era for Cath¬ 
olicity in America. 

Among prominent Catholic 
leaders in the army may be men¬ 
tioned: Stephen Moylan; the 
French counts, Lafayette and 
Rochambeau; the noble Poles, 

Kosciusko and Pulaski; and the 
German barons, Steuben and De 
Kalb. Stephen Moylan occupied 
offices of trust in the American 
army and rounded out the full 
measure of his service with General 
Greene in the southern campaign 
at the close of the war. William Paca, a signer of the Declara¬ 
tion of Independence, held numerous political offices in his own 
state, and was a member of the State convention which ratified 
the federal Constitution. Thomas Fitzsimmon was a member 
of the First Continental Congress, took part in the Trenton 
campaign, and was a member of the convention that framed the 
Constitution of the United States. Daniel Carroll of Maryland 
was the only other Catholic member of this convention. 

Eminent Catholics in the navy were Captain John Barry 
and Jeremiah O’Brien. Catholics who figured prominently in 
Congress were the famous Charles and Daniel Carroll, William 
Paca, and Thomas Fitzsimmon. There was an entire Catholic 



PULASKI 



174 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


regiment, sons of Ireland, in the Pennsylvania line. Wash¬ 
ington’s personal guard, the flower and choice of the army, 
was largely composed of Catholics. 

At the close of the war a solemn “Te Deum” was chanted 
(November 4, 1781) in one of the Catholic churches in Phila¬ 
delphia. Members of the United States Congress, Washington, 
Lafayette, and many of the distinguished generals and citi¬ 
zens attended the service. 

The Catholics of the United States, in common with their 
fellow-citizens, hailed with joy the election of George Wash¬ 
ington as first President under the 
new Constitution. Before the in¬ 
auguration, Bishop Carroll, on 
behalf of the Catholic clergy, 
united with the representatives of 
the Catholic laity (Charles Carroll 
of Carrollton, Daniel Carroll of 
Maryland, Dominic Lynch of 
New York, and Thomas Fitzsim- 
mon of Pennsylvania) in an ad¬ 
dress of congratulation to the new 
President. • The memorable and 
cordial reply of Washington “To 
the Roman Catholics of the United 
States” was as follows: “I hope 
ever to see America among the 
foremost nations in examples of 
justice and liberality; and I presume that your fellow-citizens 
will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accom¬ 
plishment of their Revolution, and the establishment of their 
government, or the important assistance they received from a 
nation in which the Roman Catholic faith is professed. . . . 

May the members of your Society in America, animated alone 
by the pure spirit of Christianity, and still conducting themselves 



LAFAYETTE 




THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY 


175 


as the faithful subjects of our free government, enjoy every 
temporal and spiritual felicity.” 

We may fittingly close this eventful epoch with the following 
extract from the Pastoral Letter of the Fathers of the Third 
Plenary Council of Baltimore (December 7, 1884): 

“We consider the establishment of our Country's indepen¬ 
dence, the shaping of its Liberties and Laws, as a work of 
special Providence; its framers ‘building better than they 
knew,' the Almighty's Hand guiding them.'' 

Questions 

1. Why is the period between 1781 and 1789 called the critical period? 
What were the important defects in the Articles of Confederation? What 
unhappy conditions resulted because of these defects? 

2. How did Maryland help bring about union among the quarreling states? 
What states were later formed from the northwest territory? What were the 
important provisions of the Ordinance of 1787? 

3. Describe the steps taken toward a National Convention. 

4. Describe the four main compromises in the Constitution. Describe the 
process of ratifying the Constitution. 

5. What five absolute powers did the national government now have, which 
made it stronger than under the Articles of Confederation? 

• 

Theme Topics 

1. Prepare and be able to give orally during the language class a description 
of Washington’s election. 

2. Prepare and be able to give orally during the language class a sketch of 
our first American Bishop, John Carroll. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


1765-1776 

George III is King of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and of 
the English colonies in America. 

Louise XV reigns in France. 

George III. 1760-1820. 

1765. The Stamp Act is passed (March 22). 

The Stamp Act Congress meets in New York City 
(October). 

1766. The Stamp Act is repealed (March 18). 

1767. The Townshend Acts are passed (June). 

1768. The British troops arrive in Boston (September). 

1770. The Boston Massacre occurs (March). 

The Townshend Acts, with the exception of a tax on 
tea, are repealed (April 12). 

1773. The Boston Tea Party occurs (December 16). 

1774. The “Five Intolerable Acts” are passed (March 31). 
The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia 
(September 5). 

1775. The War begins with Battle of Lexington; American 
victory over the British under Pitcairn (April 19). 
Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Ticonderoga 
(May 10). 

The Second Continental Congress assembles (May). 
Washington is chosen commander-in-chief (June 15). 
The Americans under Prescott suffer a “victorious” 
defeat from the British under Gage at Bunker Hill. 
General Warren is killed (June 17). 

Washington takes command and organizes a conti¬ 
nental army (July). 

1776. The Americans under Washington force the British 
under Howe to evacuate Boston (March 17). 

176 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


177 


Captain John Barry captures the British man-of-war 
Edward (April 7). 

The British under Clinton are repulsed at Charles¬ 
ton by the American garrison, in command of Colonel 
Moultrie (June 28). 

George III hires Hessians from Germany to fight 
against the colonies. 

Declaration of Independence adopted July 4, 1776. 

1776-1784 

The Continental Congress and the various State governments rule 
in America. 

George III is King of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. 

Louis XVI reigns in France. 

1776. The Americans under Sullivan are defeated by the 
British under Howe in the Battle of Long Island 
(August 27). 

The Americans are defeated in the White Plains and 
Harlem skirmishes by the British under Howe (Oc¬ 
tober). 

The British commanded by Howe take Forts Wash¬ 
ington and Lee on the Hudson (November). 
Washington and his troops retreat through New Jer¬ 
sey (November and December). 

The Americans commanded by Washington capture 
the Hessians at Trenton (December 25). 

1777. Morris raises money to save the army (January). 

The Americans under Washington win battle at Prince¬ 
ton against the British under Howe (January 2). 
Lafayette and companions arrive in America. 

Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes as the Ameri¬ 
can flag (June 14). 

Burgoyne captures Forts Ticonderoga, Crown Point, 
and Edward (July). 


178 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


The Americans under Herkimer and Arnold defeat 
the British under St. Leger in a bloody battle at 
Oriskany (August 2). 

General Schuyler is succeeded by General Gates 
(August 10). 

The Americans under Gates win battle of Bennington 
against the British under Burgoyne (August 16). 

The Americans under Washington are defeated by the 
British under Howe in the battle of Brandywine (Sep¬ 
tember 11). 

Congress leaves Philadelphia for New York (Septem¬ 
ber 19). 

The Americans under Gates fight an indecisive battle 
against the British under Burgoyne at Bemis Heights 
(September). 

The British take possession of Philadelphia and en¬ 
camp there and at Germantown (September 25,26). 
The Americans under Washington are defeated by the 
British under Howe at Germantown (October 4). 
Burgoyne surrenders to Gates (October 17). 

The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Con¬ 
federation (November 15). 

Washington goes into winter quarters at Valley 
Forge (December 11). 

Conway forms a conspiracy against Washington. 

1778. France acknowledges the independence of the United 
States and gives aid (February 6). 

Baron Steuben helps Washington to discipline his 
army (May). 

England offers to make peace (June). 

The British leave Philadelphia for New York (June 18). 
The Americans under Washington attack the British 
under Clinton at Monmouth Court House (June 28). 
Washington encamps at White Plains. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


179 


The Tories and Iroquois massacre inhabitants (Novem¬ 
ber). 

The British under General Prevost capture Savannah 
from the Americans (December 29). 

Paul Jones harasses British vessels. 

1779. The Americans under General Wayne recapture Stony 
Point from the British (July 15). 

George Rogers Clark finally captures Vincennes, and 
thus wins the Northwest for the United States. 

Paul Jones captures the British frigates Serapis and 
Scarborough off coast of Flamborough (September 23). 

1780. The Americans under Lincoln surrender at Charles¬ 
ton to the British under Clinton (May 12). 

The first French army arrives at Newport, Rhode 
Island (July 10). 

The Americans under Gates are defeated by the Brit¬ 
ish under Cornwallis at Camden (August 16). 

Arnold betrays his country and escapes to the British 
army (September). 

Major Andrb is executed as a spy (October 2). 

The western pioneers under Ferguson defeat the 
British at King’s Mountain (October 7). 

Greene is put in command of the Southern army (De¬ 
cember 2). 

Patriot bands harass the British army in the South. 

1781. The Americans under Morgan defeat the British un¬ 
der Tarleton at Cowpens (January 17). 

Greene retreats before Cornwallis (January and Feb¬ 
ruary) . 

The Articles of Confederation are ratified by Mary¬ 
land, the thirteenth and last State to take this action, 
and the Continental Congress becomes the Congress 
of the Confederation (March 1). 

The Americans under Greene are defeated by the 


180 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


British at Guilford Court House. The British, badly 
crippled, retreat to Wilmington (March 15). 

The French and American armies watch New York 
(June and July). 

A French fleet arrives in Chesapeake Bay (August 30). 
Greene practically recovers the Carolinas and Georgia 
from British rule (September). 

The combined American and French land and water 
forces begin the siege of Yorktown (September 28). 
The British under Cornwallis surrender at Yorktown, 
Virginia (October 19). 

1783. Peace is signed with England by the United States, 
France, and Spain, at Paris (September 3). 

1786-1789 

1786. Shays’s Rebellion occurs in Massachusetts. 

1787. The Constitution of the United States is adopted by 
the Convention (September 17). 

Congress passes the “ Ordinance of 1787.” 

1789. The Congress of the Confederation decides that the 
Constitution should go into effect March 4, 1789. 
George Washington is chosen first President of the 
United States. John Adams is chosen Vice-president. 


PERIOD OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 
STATES TO THE CIVIL WAR 


CHAPTER XVI 

CONDITIONS OF THE NEW NATION 

233. Area—Extent—Population. The United States in 1783 
included an area of about eight hundred thousand square miles, 
being bounded on the north by the Great Lakes and the St. 
Lawrence; on the east, by the Atlantic; and on the south and 
west, by Spanish territory. These boundaries were in dispute 
at points east and west of the Great Lakes. 

The first census, taken in 1790, showed a population of nearly 
four millions, about one-fifth of which were negroes, mostly 
slaves, and one-fiftieth Indians. Only five per cent of the 
people lived west of the Alleghanies. Virginia was the. most 
populous state; Pennsylvania ranked next; then followed in 
order North Carolina, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, 
South Carolina, and Connecticut. 

234. The West. Vermont was admitted as the fourteenth 
state in 1791, and Kentucky as the fifteenth, in 1792. The glow¬ 
ing accounts of Boone and other western pioneers attracted 
many people to the beautiful and fertile region west of the 
mountains. 

There were three main routes of travel to the western set¬ 
tlements: 

(1) the Ohio River was reached at Pittsburgh by a route through 

Pennsylvania or by way of the Potomac and Mononga- 
hela Rivers; 

(2) the Virginia valley settlers followed the Greenbrier River 

to the Great Kanawha, a branch of the Ohio; 

181 


182 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


(3) the greatest number of the frontier settlers moved by way 
of the Cumberland Gap or Wilderness Road. 

Great numbers of pack-horses and emigrant wagons were 
following these routes across the mountains. Pittsburgh espe¬ 
cially felt the impetus of the western movement, for, from this 
point, the pioneers with their families and belongings could 

easily float down the Ohio on 
flatboats and build homes in 
what is now the state of Ohio. 

235. Towns. There were 
no large cities in America at 
the close of the Revolution. 
Only five had a population 
exceeding ten thousand— 
Philadelphia, New York, Bos¬ 
ton, Charleston, and Balti¬ 
more. The streets of most of 
the cities were narrow and 
poorly paved, if paved at all. 
There were no sewers, and 
sanitation received but little attention. All kinds of diseases 
prevailed; worst of all was the terrible yellow fever. Philadel¬ 
phia, the finest city in the United States, however, had lighted 
and paved streets and a drainage system. 

236. Commerce. Owing to the fact that the old Confedera¬ 
tion could not protect the commerce of the country, trade at 
this time was not very flourishing. But in spite of unfavor¬ 
able conditions, American navigators were familiar with all 



PACK-HORSES 


seas. They sailed to the West Indies, Europe, Asia, and even 
to China and the northwest coast of America. New England 
ship-owners loaded their vessels with beef, pork, fish, peltry, 
timber, and pitch at the various colonial ports, with grain and 
floui from the NTi dcl 1 e States, with hogsheads of tobacco from 
Maryland and Virginia, or with rice and indigo from Caro¬ 
lina and Georgia. With these supplies they then sailed away 
























































CONDITIONS OF THE NEW NATION 


183 


to foreign lands, returning with cargoes of sugar, coffee, tea, 
salt, nails, and distilled spirits. The value of the imports was 
slightly less than that of the exports. 

237. Manufacturing. Manufacturing, except shipbuilding, 
was yet in its infancy. In shipbuilding New England ranked 
first and the South last. In New England and Pennsylvania 
the excellent facilities encouraged manufacturing, woolen cloth 
being the most important product of this period. Some weaving 
and dyeing mills 
were active in the 
New England 
States, but spinning 
was done in the 
homes. There were 
a great many paper 
mills, iron works, 
and glass factories 
in Philadelphia. 

Saw and grist mills 
lined the banks of 
the swift-flowing streams. Blacksmiths’ forges were erected along 
the roadside; leather was tanned and dressed, and barrels were 
coopered and packed with fish. 

238. Agriculture. Agriculture was the chief industry, prob¬ 
ably nine-tenths of the people being engaged in farming. It 
received less attention in New England than any other section 
on account of the nature of the soil and climate. In agricul¬ 
tural regions the farmer made his own wooden plow, which 
was drawn by horses or oxen; he manufactured his own wagon; 
dropped his seed by hand; cut his grain with a scythe and 
threshed it with a flail, or had his cattle or horses tramp it 
out for him. 

239. Travel and Communication. The means of travel and 
communication had changed but little since pre-Revolutionary 
times. Sailing vessels on the ocean, flatboats on the rivers, and 



AN EMIGRANT WAGON 




184 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


the saddle-horse and stage coach for inland travel were still 
the chief means of transportation. More regular routes, how¬ 
ever, had been established between the larger cities. Western 
farmers sent their produce down the Ohio and the Mississippi 
to New Orleans, where the free use of the mouth of the latter- 
river had been provided for in a treaty with Spain. 

240. Social Life. A great change in American customs and 
ways of living had come about. In the large towns the homes 
of the wealthy, though lacking in modern comforts, were spacious 
and beautifully furnished. Among the aristocratic classes there 
was much display in dress: the men wore boots, knee-breeches, 



PLOWING IN EARLY DAYS 


overcoats, cloaks of costly material, and lace ruffles about the 
wrists. The women were attired in dresses of gaily colored silks 
and velvets, over which were worn dainty white aprons, while 
quaint white cambric caps adorned their heads. The people in 
the villages and on the farms still lived in humble and rudely 
furnished log houses. They industriously raised their food on 
their own farms, or in their gardens, and wore simple, home- 
spun clothes. The spinning wheel was found in every home. 
It is said that Mrs. Washington kept sixteen running. Fire¬ 
places were still used in the majority of homes, but the stove 
invented by Franklin was fast coming into use. The houses 










CONDITIONS OF THE NEW NATION 


185 


were lighted by means of tallow candles, for a whale-oil lamp 
was a rare luxury. 

241. Education. The cause of education had suffered greatly 
during the war. Schools were neglected, for most of the students 
had become soldiers. But the speeches and writings of the great 
political leaders during the long years of controversy with 
England and the agitation over the Constitution had stirred 
the people s thoughts and feelings, and had called for hard 
thinking on many questions. One of the hopeful signs for the 
future of parochial and government 
schools was the article in the Constitu¬ 
tion which granted freedom of con¬ 
science, as also the provision made by 
the old Congress in the Ordinance of 
1787, that education in the Northwest 
should be encouraged. Noah Webster, 
a young schoolmaster, had just ar¬ 
ranged a speller, and was at work upon 
a dictionary (1783). 

242. Religion. We have seen that 
the Revolution swept away many of the 
old religious prejudices. The majority 
of the people were in favor of religious 
freedom, and the Constitution took 
away from Congress the power to hinder freedom of worship. 
In some of the original states, however, Catholicity for many 
years was obliged to struggle against opposition. 

After the “Peace of Paris,” in 1789, Pope Pius VI erected the 
Episcopal See of Baltimore and appointed as first Bishop of 
the United States the learned and patriotic John Carroll, who 
had for some years administered the affairs of the American 
Church with the rank of Prefect Apostolic. His diocese em¬ 
braced the whole United States; his flock, in the charge of some 
forty zealous pioneer priests, numbered about fifty thousand. 
It is interesting for Catholics to note the fact that, simultaneously 



BISHOP CARROLL 
From the Portrait by Gilbert 
Stuart in Georgetown University 


186 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


with the election of President Washington as the civil executive 
of the young nation, Divine Providence provided the infant 
American church with a spiritual executive in the person of the 
illustrious Right Reverend John Carroll. Franklin, Washing¬ 
ton, and other leading builders of the Republic, highly esteemed 
Bishop Carroll for his saintly life and noble patriotism. The 
Holy Father, through Franklin, inquired of Congress in what 
manner the arrangement of a bishop for the United States 
could be made without interfering with the laws of the nation. 
In answer, Congress assured him that the United States had no 
jurisdiction over matters purely spiritual. 

No sooner had the Abnaki Indians of Maine, the descendants 
of Father Rasle’s loyal flock, heard that the Holy Father had 
appointed a Bishop over the American Church, than they sent 
a delegation to ask the reverend prelate for a priest. Bishop 
Carroll received them kindly, embraced Father Rasle’s crucifix, 
which they carried with them, and promised to give them the 
desired “black gown.” These Abnaki Indians, true to the 
faith to this day, have never been without a missionary since 
that time. 

As the West had been first explored by the French, Catho¬ 
licity had early gained a foothold there; and the French posts 
in the Mississippi valley were regularly attended by chaplains. 
After the Jesuits withdrew, however, the Rev. Father Gibault, 
vicar-general of that region under the Bishop of Quebec, was 
for many years the only priest in the territory of what is now 
Indiana and Illinois. The cross had also been planted on the 
Pacific Coast. Shortly before the Declaration of Independence, 
the Spanish Franciscans, under Father Serra, founded the mis¬ 
sion which afterwards became the city of San Francisco. 

243. Literature, Art, and Science. American literature was 
still in its infancy, even though America had produced some 
noted writers. She had eminent scientists in Franklin and 
Benjamin Thompson; distinguished painters in West, Copley, 
and Stuart; and great statesmen and political writers in Dick- 


CONDITIONS OF THE NEW NATION 


187 


inson, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison. Of these, Franklin 
was perhaps the most widely known and admired. News¬ 
papers had increased in numbers, but the people still had to 
depend largely upon letters 
for their news. The first Cath¬ 
olic work published in the 
United States was written by 
Bishop John Carroll. 

244. Anti-Slavery Spirit. 

At the close of the Revolu¬ 
tion, slavery existed in nearly 
all the States. But many 
people now began to think 
that if it was wrong for Eng¬ 
lishmen to tax their colonies, 
it could hardly be right for 
Americans to buy and sell 
Africans as slaves. Emanci¬ 
pation acts which were even¬ 
tually passed in many states 
finally abolished slavery north 
of Mason and Dixon’s line. 

In the South, however, where 
slave labor was more profit¬ 
able on the great plantations than on the small farms of the 
North, slavery had taken a firmer foothold. But even here many 
people thought slavery wrong and voted for the Ordinance of 
1787, which forbade it in the Northwest Territory. 

Questions 

1. What were the boundaries of the new nation? What races of people 
and in what proportions made up the new nation? Where did most of them 
live? 

2. Trace the three main westward routes of travel. How did people travel? 

3. What products did the new nation sell to foreign nations? What things 
were being manufactured? 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 





188 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


4. Tell about the social life of the time. 

5. Give three important happenings that affected education. 

6. Tell about America’s first bishop and his diocese. What did Congress 
say about the central government and spiritual matters? What did the In¬ 
dians do when they heard about the new bishop? Where had the Catholics 
gone in the West? 

7. Name the new nation’s scientists, painters, and statesmen. Which 
was the most famous of all? 

Theme Topics 

1. Travel by th$ Old Stage Coach. 

2. Studying by Candle Light. 


* 


% 


CHAPTER XVII 

GEORGE WASHINGTON’S ADMINISTRATION 

THE FIRST PRESIDENT—1789-1797 

245. The Inauguration of Washington. The inauguration of 
Washington, who had been elected, as we have seen, the first 
President of the United States, had been planned for the first 
Wednesday in March, 1789, but because of the slow means of 
travel and communication, it was not held until April 30. 
Washington, after a triumphal journey to the capital, took the 
oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall, New York City, 
in the presence of an immense throng of people. When the 
ceremony was over, Chancellor Livingston, who had admin¬ 
istered the oath of office, called out: “Long live Washington— 
President of the United States!” The cry was caught up and 
prolonged by the enthusiastic people, while the artillery boomed 
and the city bells rang forth their joyous peals. Washington 
then read his inaugural address in the Senate chamber in the 
presence of the assembled Congress. 

246. Our First Congress—Important Measures. When our 
first Congress opened its session, there were important measures 
to be considered. These were: 

(а) the enactment of revenue taxes, or a tariff, to pay the public 

debt; 

(б) the creation of administrative, or executive departments; 

(c) the establishment of a judicial system consisting of a Supreme 

Court, Circuit Courts, and District Courts; 

(d) the fixing of the salaries of the President and Congressmen; 

( e ) the making of amendments to the Constitution (Bill of 

Rights); and 

(/) the location of the nation’s capital. 

189 



WASHINGTON AND HIS MOTHER 



























george Washington’s administration 


191 


247. Six Administrative Departments. Washington, with the 
consent of the Senate, appointed six able men to preside over 
the five administrative departments created by Congress, and 
over the Supreme Court: 

(1) Thomas Jefferson was appointed Secretary of State; (2) 
Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury; (3) Henry 
Knox, Secretary of War; (4) Edmund Randolph, Attorney- 
General; (5) John Jay, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; and 
(6) Samuel Osgood, Postmaster-General. 

248. The President’s Cabinet. The first Congress passed an 
act creating several executive departments and authorizing the 
President to select their heads. The heads of the first four 
executive departments—Jefferson, Hamilton, Knox, and Ran¬ 
dolph—were often consulted by Washington and thus by cus¬ 
tom our Cabinet was created. 

The government was now organized. Congress, the law-mak¬ 
ing department, enacted the laws; the President, at the head of 
the executive department, enforced the laws; and the Chief 
Justice, with his associates, constituting the judicial department, 
administered justice, interpreting the laws when their meaning 
was disputed. 

249. Hamilton’s Financial Plan. The national debt—foreign 
and domestic—amounted to about fifty-five million dollars. 
American credit was dead; but Hamilton worked out a plan for 
a general financial system, which tended to revive credit and to 
strengthen the authority of the Union. He made the following 
proposals: 

(а) that the government levy taxes for the two-fold purpose of 

paying its running expenses and debts, and of protecting 
American industries; 

(б) that a direct tax be imposed on alcoholic liquors; 

(c) that the government pay in full both its foreign and domestic 
debts; 

id) that it assume and pay the debts of the separate states; 

(e) that it establish a great national bank. 


192 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Hamilton, although only thirty-two years old, had acquired 
a reputation as a lawyer, and as a writer on problems of govern¬ 
ment. He soon came to be known as the best financier in 
America. Daniel Webster afterwards said of him: “He touched 
the dead corpse of the public credit and it sprang to its feet.” 



FEDERAL HALL 


250. Revenue Acts. In order to raise money to meet the 
expenses of the government, Hamilton suggested that imported 
goods be taxed. As the tax was to be included in the selling 
price of the articles, the buyers would not realize that they 
were paying it. This revenue tariff also served to protect 
American manufacturers. Since the latter could not make 
goods as cheaply as the old established concerns of Europe, they 
were afraid that they would not be able to compete with these 
European firms. This tax made the selling price of the manu- 
















































































































george Washington's administration 


193 


factured goods from Europe as high, and in some instances 
higher, than the same kind of goods manufactured in America. 
The citizens of the country, therefore, usually bought the Ameri¬ 
can article. The Tonnage Act, intended for the encourage¬ 
ment and protection of American shipping, provided that goods 
imported in foreign vessels be taxed more heavily than those 
imported in American ships. 

In a short time these revenue acts yielded an annual income 
of about three and a half million dollars, which enabled the 



THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT TODAY 


government to pay its running expenses and the interest on 
its debts. 

Congress, upon Hamilton’s advice, imposed a small tax on 
alcoholic liquors. The people of the Alleghany region and 
western Pennsylvania, who carried their grain to the market in 
the shape of whiskey, could not see why they should be taxed 
more than the people east of the mountains, who carried their 
grain to the market simply as grain. They were inclined to 
regard the tax in the same light as the stamp duties before the 
Revolution. An insurrection, known as the Whiskey Rebellion, 
followed. As the governor of Pennsylvania was unable to sup¬ 
press it, Washington sent fifteen thousand troops (1794) who 
ended the rebellion. This event proved that the United States 
had the power to enforce its laws. 













194 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


After a heated debate on Hamilton’s plan of paying foreign 
debts, Congress accepted it, together with a plan for paying the 
domestic debt. Hamilton’s proposal that the national govern¬ 
ment assume the unpaid debts of the states met with strong 
opposition from Jefferson and his followers. It happened, 
however, that while this question was being discussed, a dispute 
arose over the location of the permanent capital of the nation. 
Many of the southern members of Congress wanted it on the 
Potomac, while a number of northern members wanted it on 
the Delaware. Hamilton agreed that he would favor the loca¬ 
tion of the capital on the Potomac River in case Jefferson would 
favor his plan for assuming the state debts. A compromise 
was made on this basis. Hamilton secured enough northern 
votes to locate the capital on the Potomac, and Jefferson secured 
a sufficient number of southern votes to carry Hamilton’s plan 
of assuming the state debts. 

Hamilton next proposed the establishment of a national bank 
in which the government should hold shares. He declared that 
such a bank would be a safe place for depositing the govern¬ 
ment’s funds, and would help the government in borrowing, 
collecting, and paying money. This measure was strongly 
opposed, but was finally passed. In 1791 the first Bank of the 
United States was chartered for a period of twenty years. 
Congress established a mint in Philadelphia. With the opening 
of the mint our decimal system began—“ten cents make a dime, 
ten dimes, a dollar.” 

251. Beginning of Political Parties. The national bank 
caused the men of the country to divide into two political 
parties. Many persons were alarmed at Hamilton’s measures, 
fearing that the national government would take away powers 
belonging to the states. They believed that Congress should 
adhere strictly to the words of the Constitution and should do 
only the things which the Constitution expressly gave it power 
to do. These persons formed the party of strict construction, 


george Washington's administration 


195 


or the Republican, later called the Democratic-Republican, 
party. Their leader was Jefferson. 

On the other hand, many men in the country did not believe 
in holding Congress strictly to the words of the Constitution. 
They believed in a strong national government, and they 
thought that Congress had the right to pass any law for the wel- 



CINCINNATI IN 1819 


fare of the nation which was not forbidden by the Constitution. 
These men formed the party of loose construction, or the 
Federalist party. Their leader was Hamilton. 

252. Reelection of Washington and Adams. Washington 
wished to retire to Mount Vernon at the end of his first term, 
but both Jefferson and Hamilton, voicing the sentiments of the 
two parties which they represented, urged him to stand for a 
second election. Yielding his own wishes to those of the people, 






















196 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


he was for a second time elected by the unanimous vote of the 
electoral college. John Adams, the Federalist candidate, was 
reelected Vice-president. 

253. Westward Movement. Shortly after the passage of the 
Ordinance of 1787, Congress sold five million acres of north¬ 
western lands to individuals and companies. While the coun¬ 
try was discussing Hamilton’s financial measures, thousands 
of people from the eastern states were emigrating to the North¬ 
west Territory, of which General St. Clair became the first 
governor. Before long the cities of Marietta (1788) and Cin¬ 
cinnati (1790) were founded on the Ohio, and the territory of 
Ohio was admitted (1803) into the Union as the seventeenth 
state. 

The Indians bitterly resented the invasion of their hunting 
grounds, and, encouraged by the British, who still held Detroit, 
they resolved to drive out or kill the settlers. “Mad Anthony” 
Wayne, the hero of Stony Point, laid waste their country and 
forced them to give up most of the Ohio country to the whites. 

254. War in France—The United States Remains Neutral. 
During most of Washington’s administration a terrible revo¬ 
lution was going on in France. The people overthrew the 
monarchy (1792), beheaded the king, Louis XVI, and the 
queen, Marie Antoinette, abolished all titles, and set up a re¬ 
public. France declared war against England and sent “Citizen” 
Genet as minister to America to get help. A difficult problem 
now faced Washington and his cabinet, for they knew that to 
aid France meant war with England. Had not France been the 
first and warmest friend of American freedom? Was not Eng¬ 
land America’s old enemy? These were questions of great 
importance, made all the more so by the fact that this was the 
first administration, and succeeding ones would very likely 
follow its example. Washington’s decision, approved by his 
Cabinet, to maintain neutrality (April 22, 1793) was the begin¬ 
ning of our policy of not interfering in the affairs of European 
nations. 


george Washington’s administration 


197 


255. Genet’s Indiscretion. This attitude of the United States 
was anything but what France had expected. Genet landed at 
Charleston, South Carolina, and thinking the United States in 
sympathy with his country, began to enlist men, to fit out ships 
for the French service, and to do other unlawful acts. Even 
after being requested by Secretary Jefferson to stop such pro¬ 
ceedings, he continued to fit out vessels as privateers to prey on 
English commerce, and to commit other violations of neutrality. 
He went so far as to try to stir up the people against Washington 
and the government. The people, however, resented such an 
insult, and upheld Washington when he demanded the recall of 
Genet. 

The Democratic-Republicans sympathized with the cause of 
France. They were inclined to aid France by war or by indirect 
help—such as we had received from that country at the beginning 
of the Revolutionary War. The Federalists, on the other hand, 
were strongly opposed to giving aid to France. They leaned 
toward England because they wished English trade, and because 
they feared the spread of anarchical principles in America. 

256. Trouble with England. Our relations with England were 
no better than those with France. In the first place, England 
claimed the right to seize provisions carried to French ports in 
our ships, declaring they were contraband of war. Next, she 
impressed our seamen—that is, she stopped American ships to 
search them for seamen of British birth, in order to force them 
into her navy. Often naturalized Americans, and even sailors 
born in the United States, were seized. Last, England still 
refused to give up the western posts, and encouraged the Indians 
to make war upon our settlers in the West. 

257. The Embargo—Jay’s Treaty. Public feeling rose in this 
country until a temporary embargo (1794) forbade vessels to 
depart from American ports. The clamor for war became loud. 
Washington tried to avert it by appointing John Jay, then Chief 
Justice of the United States, as special envoy to England, where 
he was to make a last effort to adjust matters. After four 


198 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


months of negotiations, a treaty was drawn up which was ratified 
by Congress. Washington signed the bill, thus averting war. 

258. Treaties with Spain and Algiers. Thomas Pinckney 
negotiated our first treaty with Spain (1795) by which that 
power permitted for ten years the use of New Orleans as a 
“place of deposit” for the free storage of goods to be trans¬ 
shipped, and fixed the thirty-first degree of latitude as the 
boundary of Florida. 

A treaty was also made with the pirate government of Algiers 
(1795) by which the American seamen who were held as cap¬ 
tives were ransomed, and American shipping on the ocean and 
on the Mediterranean was to be left unmolested. 

259. The Spinning Mill—The Cotton Gin. Samuel Slater 
had, as a boy, spent seven years in the cotton mills of England. 

On coming to the United 
States he constructed from 
memory the necessary ma¬ 
chinery and set up (1790) a 
cotton spinning mill at Paw¬ 
tucket, Rhode Island. 

Cotton thus far had been 
grown in small quantities 
only, owing to the difficulty of 
separating the seed from the 
fiber, which had to be done by 
hand. In 1793 Eli Whitney, 
a Connecticut schoolmaster, then residing in Georgia, invented a 
contrivance by which the cotton fiber was drawn by saw teeth 
through openings too small to admit the passage of the seed. 

By this invention, called the cotton gin, the working capacity 
of one slave in cleaning cotton was multiplied about three 
hundred times. 

The invention of the cotton gin 
(a) stimulated the production of cotton and greatly increased 
the wealth of the country; 






















george Washington’s administration 


199 


(b) increased our exports enormously; 

(c) encouraged the building of a great number of cotton mills 

in New England; 

(d) fixed slavery on the nation, thus leading indirectly to the 

Civil War. 

Francis Lowell of Boston, after an investigation of the machin¬ 
ery and methods of the cotton manufacturers in England, 



GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY 

built a small factory near Boston, in which he began both the 
spinning and weaving of cotton (1813). From this time on 
factories multiplied and the industry grew very rapidly. 

260. Catholic Education—New Laborers in the Vineyard. 
Bishop Carroll, who was greatly interested in Catholic educa¬ 
tion, founded Georgetown College (1787), with the Jesuits in 
charge. He also organized a theological seminary in Baltimore 
and placed it in care of Sulpicians from Paris. Carmelite nuns 
(1790) established themselves at Port Tobacco, Maryland, and 
later at Baltimore, where they opened a school. 






200 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


To escape the horrors of the revolution raging in France, 
twenty-three French priests sought refuge in the United States 
(1791-1799). Bishop Carroll gladly welcomed them, and they 
were soon zealously engaged in mission work in Kentucky and 
elsewhere. Six of these priests later became bishops. The 
Catholic Church in the United States is deeply indebted to the 
zeal of these exiled French priests for their unwearied efforts 
in the interests of religion. The first priest ordained in the 
United States was Rev. Stephen Badin, another French exile. 
He received holy orders in Baltimore and (1793) became a 
missionary in the West. The second priest ordained in the 
United States (1795) was the illustrious Russian Prince, Deme¬ 
trius Gallitzin, fittingly termed the “Apostle of the Allegha- 
nies.” He sacrificed a distinguished position and a large 
fortune to become a missionary in western Pennsylvania. 
Father Gallitzin founded the Catholic colony at Loretto, dis¬ 
tributed lands to the settlers, and spent thousands of dollars 
in charitable enterprises. 

261. Other Events. Early in the session of the first Congress, 
twelve amendments to the Constitution were adopted. Ten of 
these, called the Bill of Rights, were ratified and added to the 
Constitution. 

Washington again, as during the war, did not desire any pay 
for his services. Congress decided, however, that the salary 
of the President should be twenty-five thousand dollars a year. 
Six dollars a day were allowed to a Congressman. 

Captain Gray of Boston sailed (1790) around Cape Horn, 
thence up the Pacific along the Oregon coast. He discovered 
the mouth of a great river, which he named the Columbia in 
honor of his ship. He then crossed the Pacific to China and 
from there he proceeded around the Cape of Good Hope and 
across the Atlantic to Boston. The American flag for the first 
time had been carried around the world. 

Three states were admitted into the Union: Vermont entered 
(1791) as the fourteenth state, without slavery; Kentucky 


george Washington’s administration 


201 


came in (1792) as the fifteenth state, with slavery; Tennessee 
was admitted (1796) as the sixteenth state, with slavery. 

The first fugitive slave law enacted by Congress (1793) gave 
the owner of a fugitive slave the right to seize him in whatever 
part of the United States he might be found. Upon proof 
that the person was a fugitive slave, he was to be returned to 
the owner. Anyone hindering his return was to be fined five 
hundred dollars. 

Washington declined to be a candidate for a third term as 
president. The Federalists chose John Adams, and the Demo¬ 
cratic-Republicans chose Thomas Jefferson as candidate for the 
presidency. Adams was elected by three votes, and Jefferson 
became Vice-president. 

Questions 

1. What three departments of government were organized under the 
Constitution? 

2. Why was the president’s cabinet organized? 

3. How did Alexander Hamilton plan to pay the national debt? What is 
meant by a protective tariff? Why did Hamilton believe such a tax necessary? 
Why was there a ‘‘Whiskey Rebellion”? What did the quelling of the rebel¬ 
lion prove? Why did Hamilton want a National Bank? 

4. What did the first political parties believe in? 

5. Why did many Americans sympathize with the French Revolution? 
Why did Washington demand the recall of Genet? While England and France 
were at war, how did American commerce suffer? 

6. What three treaties did the government of the United States negotiate? 

7. What were the results of the invention of the cotton gin? 

8. Describe other events of Washington’s administration. 

Theme Topics 

1. Be prepared to talk during the language period about Alexander Ham¬ 
ilton; about Thomas Jefferson. 

2. Let two pupils draw up short outlines for a ten-minute debate on the 
query, Resolved: That Washington Should Have Become a Candidate for a 
Third Term. Let each pupil present his argument before the class. 


CHAPTER XVIII 
JOHN ADAMS’S ADMINISTRATION 

FEDERALIST—1797-1801 

262. New Trouble with France. When John Adams became 
President (1797), he found that our trouble with France had not 
been ended by the recall of Genet. France, who considered the 
Jay Treaty an insult (because it seemed favorable to England), 

recalled her minister to the 
United States and ordered our 
minister, Charles Pinckney, to 
leave the country. French 
cruisers began to attack our 
merchant vessels. 

263. The X, Y, Z Affair. 
Hoping to avoid war, Adams 
appointed John Marshall and 
Elbridge Gerry to join Pinck¬ 
ney in a final attempt to set¬ 
tle matters peaceably. When 
these men reached Paris, they 
were denied an official inter¬ 
view. Three persons acting as 
French agents visited them 
privately, declaring that the 
American envoys could be received only after the United States 
had paid each Director the sum of fifty thousand dollars, and 
had loaned money, as a tribute, to the French government. 

The American envoys refused to accept these terms, and 
Pinckney was reported to have exclaimed, “Millions for defense; 
not a cent for tribute.” When Adams made his report to Con- 

202 



JOHN ADAMS 







JOHN ADAMS’S ADMINISTRATION 203 

gress he called the three agents Mr. X, Mr. Y, and Mr. Z; hence 
the incident became known as the “X, Y, Z affair.” When this 
incident became public through the newspapers, a cry of in¬ 
dignation against France went up throughout the country. 
“Millions for defense; not a cent for tribute,” “War with 
France!” resounded on every side. Inspired by the excitement, 
Joseph Hopkinson composed the patriotic song, “Hail Colum¬ 
bia.” 

Preparations for war were made, and naval hostilities between 
the two nations were actually begun. Within a short time the 
French Directory declared its willingness to receive an envoy 
from the United States. Adams sent a commission, which 
made a treaty (1800) with Napoleon, who had attained power 
in France. 

264. Three Acts Aimed at Foreigners. During the trouble 
with France, the newspapers printed violent attacks upon the 
President and the government. Many of the journalists at 
that time were foreigners, and the Federalists, who controlled 
both Houses of Congress believed that these attacks might 
tend to weaken the Union. To get rid of these writers and at 
the same time to punish American-born editors who too freely 
criticized the administration, Congress passed three laws: 

(а) the Naturalization Act, which increased the time of resi¬ 

dence necessary to become a citizen from five to four¬ 
teen years; 

(б) the Alien Act, which gave the President power to expel 

from the United States all aliens whom he thought dan¬ 
gerous to its peace; 

(c) the Sedition Act, which provided for the punishment by 
fine and imprisonment of any person who should bring 
the government into disrepute. 

The Alien and Sedition Acts were never strictly enforced, 
but they had two important results. First, they helped to drive 
the Federalists from power, and, second, they called forth the 
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. 


204 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


265. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. The Virginia 
resolution pronounced the Acts a violation of the Constitution; 
the Kentucky measures declared that a state might rightfully 
nullify any act of Congress which was a violation of the Con¬ 
stitution. Nullifying the law means declaring it void and not 
to be enforced; hence nullification is a very dangerous doctrine, 
which, if exercised by the individual state instead of by the 
Supreme Court of the United States, would soon break up the 
Union. The idea that states might resist the national govern- 



WASHINGTON’s TOMB AT MOUNT VERNON 

ment if they saw fit was destined to make trouble many years 
later—as we shall see when we take up our study of the Civil 
War. 

266. The Death of Washington. Washington died at his 
home at Mount Vernon, in the last month of the last year of 
the eighteenth century (December 14, 1799). The people 
mourned him as a father, who highly deserved the love and 
gratitude of the whole nation for all coming ages. Washing- 
















JOHN ADAMS’S ADMINISTRATION 


205 


ton’s remains were entombed at Mount Vernon. The tomb 
is a shrine which men of every nation, irrespective of party, 
creed, or color, visit with feelings of veneration. A tradition of 
the New York Indians says, “Alone of all white men, Washington 
has been admitted to the Indian heaven, because of his justice to 
the red men.” 

267. John Marshall Appointed Chief Justice. Before going 
out of office (1801) Adams appointed John Marshall, a Virginia 
Federalist, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall, 
who for thirty-five years used 

his powerful influence to make 
the general government su¬ 
perior to the states in all ques¬ 
tions concerning the common 
interests of the nation, proved 
himself the greatest of Amer¬ 
ican jurists, and it has been 
fittingly said of him that “he 
found the Constitution paper, 
and made it power.” 

268. Catholic Immigration. 

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 
caused a vast stream of Cath¬ 
olic immigration to the United 
States. Owing to this fact, 
the Catholic Church grew rap¬ 
idly in numbers, so that the Catholic population of New York 
had, in eleven years, increased from about one hundred to about 
fourteen thousand. It was regarded as marvelous that six 
priests should be ordained in New York City in one day. “The 
event,” writes the venerable Bishop Carroll, “was a happy 
day for the diocese.” In view of this increase, the Sovereign 
Pontiff raised the See of Baltimore (1808) to the rank of an 
Archbishopric with four auxiliary bishoprics—New York, 
Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown, Kentucky. 



JOHN MARSHALL 






206 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Questions 

1. How did the French show their anger against the Jay treaty? Explain 
the “X, Y, Z affair.” What effect did this incident have upon the American 
people? 

2. What were the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions? Explain why these 
resolutions were dangerous to the nation. 

3. How did John Marshall make our nation stronger? 

4. What effect did immigration have upon the Catholic Church in America? 

Theme Topics 

1. The WTiting of “Hail Columbia.” 

2. Imagine that you and your classmates have made a trip to Washington’s 
tomb at Mount Vernon. Write a eulogy of one paragraph that might be 
delivered by a member of the class after a wreath had been placed before the 
tomb. 


CHAPTER XIX 


THOMAS JEFFERSON’S ADMINISTRATION 
DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN—1801-1809 

269. Jefferson and Burr Are Elected. In the third presi¬ 
dential election, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received 
an equal number of votes, and the election of the president was 
thrown for the first time into the House of Representatives. 
On the thirty-sixth ballot Jefferson was elected President, and 
Burr became Vice-president. 

270. Jefferson’s Inauguration. Jefferson (1743-1826) was the 
first President to be inaugurated in the new capitol, which was 
ridiculed as a “palace in the woods.” Dressed in his ordinary 
clothes, and accompanied by a few political friends, he quietly 
took the oath of office without any impressive ceremony. In 
his inaugural address, he declared, “We are all Republicans! 
We are all Federalists!” He mentioned the principles of the 
government as being: 

(а) equal rights to all men; 

(б) peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; 

(c) no entangling alliance with any foreign power; 

( d ) the supremacy of the civil over the military power; 

(e) economy in public expense; and 

(/) the honest payment of public debts. 

Being a poor public speaker, Jefferson began the custom of 
sending his “annual message” to be read before Congress, 
instead of delivering it in a formal address, as Washington 
and Adams had done. Though dignified in manner and 
scholarly in tastes, he had a strong dislike for ceremony and 
show. Of aristocratic Virginian descent, he had in his latter 
days become very democratic, having great faith in the com- 

207 


208 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


mon people. He thought the President should be simple in 
dress and manners, and mingle freely with the people. He 
wore a red waistcoat, yarn stockings, and worn-down slippers, 
and was entirely informal in his reception of visitors. 

271. The Louisiana Purchase. In 1800 Spain secretly ceded 
Louisiana to France. When the people of the United States 
learned of this they were greatly alarmed, for it meant that 

France, a strong nation, instead 
of Spain, a weak nation, would 
control the Mississippi River. 
This alarm was increased when 
the officials at New Orleans 
closed the Mississippi to the 
citizens of the United States, 
denying to those living west of 
the Alleghanies the privilege of 
taking their products to New 
Orleans by way of the river. 

In order to obtain control of 
the river, Jefferson resolved to 
purchase the Island of New Or¬ 
leans. He sent James Monroe 
as a special envoy to France to 
assist our minister, Robert Liv¬ 
ingston, in making the purchase. Just at this time war between 
France and England had been renewed, and Napoleon was 
greatly in need of money. He offered to sell the entire Louisiana 
Territory to the United States for fifteen million dollars. Al¬ 
though they had not been empowered by the President to spend 
such a large sum of money, the envoys made the purchase (1803). 
By this purchase the United States enlarged its territory so that 
it controlled all the land extending from the Mississippi River 
to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to Texas. The area 
of our country was doubled. 





thomas Jefferson’s administration 


209 



THE CAPITOL TODAY 

273. Duel Between Hamilton and Burr—Burr’s Conspiracy. 

Aaron Burr, while a candidate for the governorship of New 
York, was strongly opposed by Hamilton. Stung by the 
attacks of his opponent, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. 
The two men met at a secluded spot on the Jersey shore, and 
Hamilton fell, mortally wounded. 

Under the pretense of making an expedition against the 
Spaniards of Mexico, Burr made a tour of the Mississippi Valley, 
built boats, and collected an army. His real purpose, it is 
believed, was to set up an independent nation in Texas and 


272. Jefferson Is Reelected. When the fact and terms of the 
Louisiana Purchase became known, the people were astonished 
at the magnitude of the acquisition. The treaty was so clearly 
for the good of the nation that it was generally approved, and 
at the election of 1804, Jefferson was reelected by an enormous 
majority. George Clinton of New York was chosen Vice- 
president. 




210 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Mexico, with himself at the head. He was at length betrayed, 
arrested, and tried for treason by Chief Justice Marshall, but, 
because of insufficient evidence, was released. The career which 
his brilliant talents might have made honorable and useful was 
wrecked, and Burr lived lonely and despised for the rest of 
his days. 

274. First Explorations of the Northwest. The Louisiana 

Purchase opened a great field for western emigration, and 



ROUTE OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 

Jefferson, realizing the importance of some knowledge of the 
new territory, sent an expedition, under the leadership of 
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, brother of George Rogers 
Clark, to explore the country as far as the western ocean. 
Leaving St. Louis in the spring of 1804, the party pushed its 
boats up the Missouri, crossed over the Rocky Mountains, and 
floated down the Columbia River to the Pacific, which it reached 
in November, 1805, after a perilous journey of four thousand 
miles. Returning the next year, the party gave the people 



thomas Jefferson’s administration 


211 


of the East a glowing account of the “vast, illimitable West” 
with its wonderful resources. The Lewis-Clark expedition gave 
the United States another claim to the region called Oregon, 
which had been discovered by Gray in 1790. It strengthened 
our rights to the Oregon country against the claims of England 
and Russia; and, together with Pike’s explorations, it gave the 
nation an idea of the great value of the Louisiana Purchase. 

Lieutenant Pike, in command of the United States troops, 
set out from St. Louis and explored the head-waters of the 
Mississippi, Arkansas, and Red Rivers. He discovered the 
mountain peak which now bears his name. Five years after 
the Lewis-Clark exploration, a New York fur trader named 
Astor established a trading post at the mouth of the Colum¬ 
bia River, and called it Astoria. A line of trading posts 
was eventually established from the upper Missouri to Astoria. 

275. Fulton’s Steam¬ 


boat. Many people 
feared that the Re¬ 
public, with its vast 
new territory, was too 
large to be held to¬ 
gether; but a means 
of bringing its parts 
into closer communi¬ 
cation was even then 
at hand. Robert Ful¬ 
ton , a Pennsylvanian 

of Irish descent, invented the first successful steamboat, the 
Clermont. The bofat made its trial trip up the Hudson from 
New York to Albany in thirty-two hours (August 11, 1807), 
and from this time steam navigation made rapid progress. Only 
twelve years later (1819) the Savannah , the first ocean steam¬ 
ship, started from Savannah, Georgia, and crossed the Atlantic 
to Liverpool in twenty-five days—a great feat, the credit of 
which belongs to a southern state. 



fulton’s steamboat 






























212 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


276. War with the Barbary States. During the previous 
presidencies, the United States had to buy the good will of 
the Barbary States (countries on the northern coast of Africa), 
paying them high ransoms and tributes. Finally Tripoli, one 
of these states, became so insolent that Jefferson sent a naval 
expedition to teach the piratical powers to respect us. The city 
of Tripoli, capital of the country, was bombarded, and finally 
the pasha, or governor, was so thoroughly humiliated that he 
was glad to sue for peace (1805). 

This war had three important results: (1) the Barbary States 
eventually ceased their attacks on our commerce; (2) our mer¬ 
chant marine became a training school in which seamen were 
prepared for the War of 1812; and (3) Jefferson was forced to 
consent to the enlargement of our navy. 

277. France and Great Britain Plunder American Ships. 
The Barbary Powers were not the only enemies of American 
commerce. France and Great Britain, at war with one another, 
were trying to injure each other’s trade, regardless of the injury 
inflicted upon American commerce. The British government, 
in 1806 and 1807, published her “Orders in Council” declaring 
all French ports in a state of blockade, and forbidding neutral 
vessels to enter a French port. Napoleon replied with his 
“Decrees,” which forbade neutral trade with England. Follow¬ 
ing these declarations, American vessels bound to or from 
blockaded ports were subject to capture anywhere on the high 
seas by the cruisers of the belligerents. 

278. England Claims the Right of Search and Impressment. 
England still claimed the right to search our vessels for seamen 
of English birth and to impress them into the British navy. 
British war vessels even anchored outside American ports cap¬ 
turing hundreds of American vessels and impressing thousands 
of our seamen. The height of insult was reached when the 
British frigate Leopard overhauled the American frigate Ches¬ 
apeake off Hampton Roads, Virginia, and ordered her to submit 
to search. Upon refusal, the Leopard opened fire on the Ches- 


thomas Jefferson’s administration 


213 


apeake, which, unprepared for battle, surrendered. Four men, 
three of whom were American citizens, were seized and im¬ 
pressed into British service. The whole nation was aroused 
at this outrage. 

279. The Embargo Act. To prevent the loss of our ships 
and seamen, and to punish both France and England by depriv- 



MONTICELLO—JEFFERSON J S HOME 


ing them of American goods, Jefferson secured the passage of 
the Embargo Act. This act forbade American ships to leave 
the United States for any foreign port. American industries 
suffered severely under this law, and much dissatisfaction was 

















































































































214 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


expressed throughout the country. Fourteen months later (1809) 
the act was repealed, and Congress passed the Non-Intercourse 
Act, which prohibited all commerce with Great Britain, France, 
and their colonies. 

280. Other Events. The unpopular Naturalization Act was 
repealed in 1802. In the same year, the number of years’ 
residence required for citizenship was reduced from fourteen 
to five. 

Ohio was admitted (1803) into the Union as the seventeenth 
state, without slavery. The second census of the United States 
was taken in 1800; it showed a population of over five million. 

The Twelfth Amendment, which provided that the electors 
cast separate ballots for President and Vice-president, was 
proposed by Congress and ratified by the states (1804). 

Congress put a stop to the importation of slaves after Janu¬ 
ary, 1808. The law was endorsed by Jefferson, who, like Wash¬ 
ington and most leading men of the South, held slaves, but 
who sincerely hoped that the country would find some peaceful 
means of freeing the negroes. 

Questions 

1. How did Jefferson show that his sympathies were with the common 
people and not with the aristocrats? Which of his principles as emphasized 
in Section 270 do we hear frequently discussed today? Which do you think 
to be very important? Why? 

2. Why was the United States aroused when it was learned that Spain had 
ceded Louisiana to France? Why was Napoleon willing to sell Louisiana to 
the United States? How did Jefferson finally get control of the territory for 
the United States? Show on the map the extent of this territory. Name some 
of the resources then undeveloped that have made this purchase a great 
bargain. Why did Jefferson send Lewis and Clark to explore the Louisiana 
Territory? Trace on the map the journey they made. What were the results 
of this journey? 

3. When and by whom was the first successful steamboat built? 

4. What were the results of the war with the Barbary States? Be sure you 
can locate these states on the map. 

5. How did the war between England and France interfere with American 
commerce? What is your opinion of the Chesapeake affair? What is meant 
by an Embargo Act? What was the effect of Jefferson’s Embargo Act? 


thomas Jefferson’s administration 215 

6. What was the Non-Intercourse Act? Describe the other events in 
Jefferson’s administration. 

Theme Topics 

1. Relate orally during the language period the story of Robert Fulton and 
his work. 

2. Lewis and Clark Expedition. 

3. War with the Barbary States. 


CHAPTER XX 


JAMES MADISON’S ADMINISTRATION 


DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN—1809-1817 



281. Madison Elected. James Madison, the fourth presi¬ 
dent of the United States, was a native of Virginia. He had 
acquired a reputation as the foremost framer of the Consti¬ 
tution, as leader of his party in Congress, and as Secretary 
of State. He was universally esteemed for his statesmanship 
and learning. Inasmuch as he w r as a friend and strong sup¬ 
porter of Jefferson, his admin¬ 
istration may be looked upon 
as a continuation of that of his 
predecessor. He hated war, 
and, like the three preceding 
presidents, thought it better 
for the general welfare of the 
nation to avoid it. This, how¬ 
ever, was fast becoming im¬ 
possible. 

282. Foreign Difficulties Con¬ 
tinue. When Madison began 
his administration, foreign af¬ 
fairs were in a deplorable con¬ 
dition. Great Britain and 
France continued to capture 
our ships, and England still impressed our seamen. 

Great Britain claimed, “Once an Englishman, always an 
Englishman,” whereas the United States held that any for¬ 
eigner could become an American by naturalization. There 
were, of course, causes for annoyance on both sides. It not 


JAMES MADISON 


216 





james madison’s administration 


217 


infrequently happened that English seamen procured fraudu¬ 
lent naturalization papers and entered the American navy, 
where the better treatment and higher pay made our naval 
service more attractive. Congress (May, 1810) passed the 
“Macon Bill,” which repealed the Non-Intercourse Act, but 
provided that in case Great Britain should repeal its “Orders 
in Council” or Napoleon should repeal his “Decrees” (see 
page 212), non-intercourse should be resumed with the other 
nation. Napoleon, in a letter to the United States, announced 
a repeal of his Decrees. At once numerous American vessels 
sailed for European ports, but they were promptly seized and 
despoiled by the French. The British refused to rescind the 
Orders in Council and continued to impress American seamen. 

Madison, provoked by all these outrages, ordered the frigate 
President to sea to protect our commerce. The President was 
soon fired upon by the British sloop of war Little Belt, and in 
the ensuing battle the English vessel was badly crippled. 

283. More Indian Troubles. To add to the difficulties con¬ 
fronting the nation, the Indians of the western frontiers, led 
by the great chiefs, Tecumseh and “The Prophet,” who, it is 
supposed, were incited by the English, threatened the safety 
of the western settlers. General William Harrison, governor 
of Indian Territory, collected troops and repulsed the savages 
at their town of Tippecanoe, on the Wabash River. The losses 
on both sides were very heavy, Harrison losing one-fourth of 
his men. Tecumseh, absent at the time of the battle of Tippe¬ 
canoe—urging the southern Indians to join the confederation— 
returned only after the defeat of these northern tribes by 
Harrison. 

284. War Declared. The responsibility of maintaining peace 
or entering upon war with England was now thrown upon Con¬ 
gress, which met in extra session (November 4, 1811). The 
Federalists, who were strong in New England and closely 
allied with England through commercial relations, opposed 
war with that country. But the Republicans controlled both 


218 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 





























































james madison’s administration 


219 


houses of Congress, and, led by John C. Calhoun of South 
Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky, believed that war with 
England would result in the conquest of Canada with the sub¬ 
sequent driving of England from the American continent. 
After months of debate, war against England was declared 
by Congress on June 18 , 1812 . 

The United States, wholly unprepared for war, was forced to 
enter the conflict without the support of all its sections. The 
people of the agricultural sections of the West and South wanted 
war, but the peace Republicans of the middle states and the 
Federalists of New England were strongly opposed to a breach 
with England. This opposition of New England led to great 
difficulty in securing money to carry on the war, because most 
of the money then in the United States was in the hands of 
the New England business men, who refused to lend it to the 
government. 

285. Madison is Reelected. The war Republicans, who 
supported the President, were strong enough to carry the next 
presidential election, and Madison was reelected. Vice- 
president George Clinton had died during his term of office, and 
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, was now chosen to succeed 
him. 

286. American War Plan for 1812—Failure. The Americans 
planned to invade Canada before England could send a large 
army to America. General William Hull started from Detroit 
into Canada, but was driven back and forced to surrender 
with his entire army. The people of the United States, indig¬ 
nant at Hull’s surrender, accused him of cowardice. He was 
tried by court-martial and sentenced to be shot, but President 
Madison, considering his age and his services during the Revo¬ 
lution, pardoned him. It is now believed that humane motives 
led him to sacrifice his reputation in order to save his army 
from destruction. 

287. Naval Victories of 1812. The first of our numerous and 
glorious naval victories was won by David Porter, captain of 


220 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


the Essex. His ship was mistaken for a merchantman and 
fired upon by the British sloop Alert. Porter, replying with 
a terrible broadside, captured (August 13, 1812) the Alert 
without the loss of a man, after an engagement of only eight 
minutes. 

Six days later the American frigate Constitution , commanded 
by Captain Isaac Hull, met the British frigate Guerriere in 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. After a contest of forty minutes 
the British ship was reduced to a total wreck, while the Consti¬ 
tution sustained but slight injury. This victory was hailed 
with great rejoicing, for the Guerriere had been particularly 



active in the searching of American vessels. The Constitution 
became the pet ship of the American navy. Because of this 
victory and others which followed, it was later named Old 
Ironsides. (Read Holmes’s poem, “Old Ironsides.”) 

In October Captain Jacob Jones, commander of the Wasp, 
captured the British sloop Frolic off the coast of North Caro¬ 
lina, but scarcely was the battle over when a British man-of- 
war captured both the Wasp and her prize. 

288. Naval Successes and Reverses of 1813. The year opened 
with a renewal of naval successes for the Americans. The sloop 
Hornet , with Captain Lawrence in command, captured the 







james madison’s administration 


221 


British brig Peacock. The Essex, with Porter in command, 
cruised the Atlantic and Pacific and captured many British 
merchant vessels. 

The naval victories of 1813 were practically offset by the 
reverses. Captain Lawrence, having been made commander of 
the frigate Chesapeake, was defeated near Boston harbor by 
the British frigate Shannon, commanded by Captain Broke. 
The last order of Captain Lawrence, when mortally wounded, 
“Don’t give up the ship!” became the rallying cry of the 
American navy. This was our first important naval defeat, 
but it was not the only one. The Essex was captured in a 
neutral port; the Argus, after destroying twenty-seven vessels 
in the English Channel, was taken by the Pelican; our frigate 
President was captured while endeavoring to escape the blockade 
of New York harbor. 

289. Perry’s Victory. On the lake frontier, a young naval 
officer, Captain Perry, built a fleet of nine war vessels on Lake 
Erie. The British also equipped a fleet under Captain Barclay. 
The two forces met (September, 1813) at Put-in Bay. The 
outcome of this desperate fight was expressed in Perry’s brief 
message to General Harrison: “We have met the enemy and 
they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one 
sloop.” Perry’s victory was the turning point of the war, for 
it gave us control of the Great Lakes and the West, thus enabling 
Harrison to enter Canada. Perry, a native of Rhode Island, 
had never been in action before. He named his flagship Law¬ 
rence, and a blue banner at its masthead bore the dying words 
of the brave Captain Lawrence, “Don’t give up the ship!” 

290. American Privateering. England had blockaded the 
American ports one after another, and most of our fleet was 
shut up ii* the harbors of Boston, New London, and New York. 
Before the end of the year the blockade of all the Atlantic 
ports was effected. Hence, the defense of the newly acquired 
American reputation at sea was left to privateers—small vessels— 
quick to strike and quick to escape. In this way the Ameri- 


224 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


on board a British ship, whither he had gone to.secure the 
release of some prisoners. All night long he watched the bom¬ 
bardment of the fort. Eagerly watching the flag still flying 
over Fort McHenry, he wrote in pencil on the back of an old 
letter the national hymn, “The Star Spangled Banner.” 

The American forces on Lake Champlain were in charge 
of Commodore McDonough, whose flagship was the Saratoga. 



BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 


When the British, commanded by Prevost, entered Plattsburg 
(September), McDonough, having earnestly implored the 
Divine assistance, began a sharp two hours’ naval contest, 
which resulted in a victory for the Americans. Prevost re¬ 
treated to Canada, and the war in that section was ended. 

To Edward Pakenham, one of England’s ablest lieutenants, 
was entrusted the capture of New Orleans. He was supported 
by an army of ten thousand veterans and a fleet of fifty vessels. 









































james madison’s administration 


225 


The expedition made a landing below the city. Andrew 
Jackson, who was in command of the Americans at New Or¬ 
leans, had gathered about six thousand men from Kentucky, 
Tennessee, and the neighboring region, five thousand of whom 
were Catholics. With these troops he took his stand behind 
breastworks. Pouring a deadly fire into the ranks of the British, 
our troops forced the enemy to withdraw after the loss of nearly 
two thousand men, among whom was Pakenham. Never before 
in English history had a British army been so badly defeated. 
The American loss was exceedingly light—probably some seventy 
men all told. 

294. The Hartford Convention. The war was very un¬ 
popular in New England and the extreme Federalists openly 
advocated secession. Finally delegates from nearly all the 
New England states met in secret session at Hartford, the real 
proceedings of which were not made known. It is supposed 
that the purpose was to arrange for secession from the Union. 
As the delegates to this convention were all Federalists and their 
meeting was a secret one, the whole affair bore the stamp of 
national disloyalty, which, with the party’s opposition to the 
war, gave the death blow to the Federalist party. 

295. Treaty of Peace—Results of War. Before the battle 
of New Orleans was fought, peace had been signed at Ghent, 
Belgium, on Christmas Eve, 1814. Because of the slow means 
of communication the treaty, signed by the peace commissioners, 
had not reached the United States in time to prevent the 
battle. Though the causes of war were chiefly the impressment 
of our seamen and the British interference with our com¬ 
merce, nothing concerning these two points was mentioned in 
the treaty. There was, however, an understanding on both 
sides that American commerce was not to be interfered with, 
and Great Britain never again impressed our seamen. 

The war had the following good results: 

(a) European nations were convinced that we were able to 
take care of ourselves, and our ships thereafter navi¬ 
gated the ocean in peace; 


224 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


on board a British ship, whither he had gone to.secure the 
release of some prisoners. All night long he watched the bom¬ 
bardment of the fort. Eagerly watching the flag still flying 
over Fort McHenry, he wrote in pencil on the back of an old 
letter the national hymn, “The Star Spangled Banner.” 

The American forces on Lake Champlain were in charge 
of Commodore McDonough, whose flagship was the Saratoga . 



BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN 


When the British, commanded by Prevost, entered Plattsburg 
(September), McDonough, having earnestly implored the 
Divine assistance, began a sharp two hours’ naval contest, 
which resulted in a victory for the Americans. Prevost re¬ 
treated to Canada, and the war in that section was ended. 

To Edward Pakenham, one of England’s ablest lieutenants, 
was entrusted the capture of New Orleans. He was supported 
by an army of ten thousand veterans and a fleet of fifty vessels. 































james madison’s administration 


225 


The expedition made a landing below the city. Andrew 
Jackson, who was in command of the Americans at New Or¬ 
leans, had gathered about six thousand men from Kentucky, 
Tennessee, and the neighboring region, five thousand of whom 
were Catholics. With these troops he took his stand behind 
breastworks. Pouring a deadly fire into the ranks of the British, 
our troops forced the enemy to withdraw after the loss of nearly 
two thousand men, among whom was Pakenham. Never before 
in English history had a British army been so badly defeated. 
The American loss was exceedingly light—probably some seventy 
men all told. 

294. The Hartford Convention. The war was very un¬ 
popular in New England and the extreme Federalists openly 
advocated secession. Finally delegates from nearly all the 
New England states met in secret session at Hartford, the real 
proceedings of which were not made known. It is supposed 
that the purpose was to arrange for secession from the Union. 
As the delegates to this convention were all Federalists and their 
meeting was a secret one, the whole affair bore the stamp of 
national disloyalty, which, with the party’s opposition to the 
war, gave the death blow to the Federalist party. 

295. Treaty of Peace—Results of War. Before the battle 
of New Orleans was fought, peace had been signed at Ghent, 
Belgium, on Christmas Eve, 1814. Because of the slow means 
of communication the treaty, signed by the peace commissioners, 
had not reached the United States in time to prevent the 
battle. Though the causes of war were chiefly the impressment 
of our seamen and the British interference with our com¬ 
merce, nothing concerning these two points was mentioned in 
the treaty. There was, however, an understanding on both 
sides that American commerce was not to be interfered with, 
and Great Britain never again impressed our seamen. 

The war had the following good results: 

(a) European nations were convinced that we were able to 
take care of ourselves, and our ships thereafter navi¬ 
gated the ocean in peace; 


226 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


(6) the United States was thenceforward recognized by the world 
as a first-class power; 

(c) a new impulse was given to our heretofore backward man¬ 

ufacturing industry. The embargoes and the maritime 
dangers which had retarded American commerce had 
caused many capitalists to turn their attention to manu¬ 
facturing, and thereafter we were not obliged to depend 
upon England for cotton and woolen goods; 

(d) love for and confidence in the Union were increased. 

296. The Tariff of 1816. The first protective tariff was 
passed in 1816. It imposed a duty on imported cotton and 
woolen goods, salt, and iron. This tariff had its supporters, 
led by John C. Calhoun, who was still a strong advocate* of 
nationalization; it also had its opponents, led by Daniel Webster, 
who represented the New England shipping interests, and by 
John Randolph, the champion of the agricultural South. 

We see here a beginning of the cause for a division in the 
Democratic-Republican party, which was gradually changing 
its views. It saw that a strict construction of the Constitution 
could not always be followed, as shown in the Louisiana Pur¬ 
chase and the rechartering of the national bank. The Demo¬ 
cratic-Republicans began more and more to favor nationalization 
and to adopt many of the principles of the old Federalist party. 

297. The Barbary States Again. During the war of 1812, 
the Barbary States again captured many of our vessels and 
made slaves of the crews. After peace (1815) had been declared 
with England, Commodore Stephen Decatur captured two of 
the pirates’ ships near Gibraltar. He then forced the Dey of 
Algiers to release our sailors and to pay for damage done to 
our commerce. Decatur next proceeded to Tripoli and Tunis, 
forcing both of these powers to come to terms. The Barbary 
States have never since molested our shipping. 

298. The United States Bank Rechartered. Jefferson’s party 
had bitterly opposed Hamilton’s bank, hence it failed to be 
rechartered when its first twenty years’ charter had expired. 


james madison’s administration 227 

(1811). At Madison’s suggestion, Congress reestablished a 
United States bank, again chartering it for twenty years and 
giving it all the powers of Hamilton’s bank. 

299. New States. Two new states were added to the Union 
during Madison’s administration. Louisiana, the eighteenth 
state, was admitted with slavery (1812). Indiana, the nine¬ 
teenth state of the Union, was admitted (1816) as a free state. 

Questions 

1. Make a list of the events leading to the war of 1812. Why were the 
New England merchants opposed to the war? 

2. Make a list of and describe the naval activities of the war. Describe 
the activities on land. 

3. Why did the New England states meet at Hartford? Compare this action 
with the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions. 

4. What were the results of the war? 

5. What sections of the country supported the tariff of 1816? Why? What 
did Madison do for the United States Bank? 

6. What did the Barbary States do during this administration? What 
were the results? 


Theme Topics 

1. Give orally during the language period the story of “The Star Spangled 
Banner.” 

2. Memorize “The Star Spangled Banner.” 

3. Tell the story of Oliver Perry. 


CHAPTER XXI 

JAMES MONROE’S ADMINISTRATION 


DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN—1817-1825 



300. The Era of Good Feeling. James Monroe, the fifth 
President of the country, who was elected in 1816, may be looked 
upon as a representative of the people, rather than of the 
Republican party. The Federalist party disappeared after his 
election and his second election was unopposed. For this reason 
the period has been called the “era of good feeling.” Monroe 

took the oath of office and gave 
his inaugural address at Wash¬ 
ington near the ruins of the capi- 
tol. Daniel B. Tompkins be¬ 
came Vice-president. 

Monroe (1758-1831) was the 
last of the Revolutionary heroes 
to be President. He had been a 
soldier in the Revolution, a 
United States Senator, twice an 
envoy to France, minister to 
London, governor of Virginia, 
and finally Secretary of State 
during the preceding adminis¬ 
tration. 

301. War with the Seminoles. 

james monroe In Florida, which still belonged 

to Spain, there were a large num¬ 
ber of runaway slaves, pirates, and robbers. These, joining the 
Seminole Indians, kept up a constant warfare against the whites 


228 




james monroe’s administration 229 

of Georgia and Alabama. The government sent Andrew Jackson 
(1817) to put a stop to these outrages. He entered Florida, drove 
the Seminoles from place to place, captured the Spanish forts, St. 
Marks and Pensacola, and hanged two British traders who had 
incited the savages to hostilities. Spain protested against 
Jackson’s course of action, but trouble was averted by the 
United States’ purchase of Florida (1819) for five million 
dollars. 

302. The Cumberland Highway. The power of the Indians 
of both the Northwest and the Southwest was now broken, 



THE CUMBERLAND NATIONAL ROAD 


and the vast fertile West was open to immigration. Thousands 
of people, especially from New England, began to move west¬ 
ward. but their progress was retarded by the lack of roadways. 
Steamboats and ferryboats were used on the rivers, but goods 
had to be transported over wide stretches of country through 
which flowed no navigable rivers. The westward-moving emi¬ 
grants needed a roadway to connect the East and the West. 
The western frontiersmen w T ere anxious to exchange products, 
such as potash, lumber, flour, skins, and grain, for the hard¬ 
ware, clothing, household goods, and farming implements of 
the Atlantic states. To satisfy the pressing demands of the 










230 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


times, a great national highway, called the Cumberland Road, 
was built by the United States government. By 1820 it ex¬ 
tended from Cumberland, on the Potomac (Maryland) to 
Wheeling on the Ohio (Ohio), at which point connection could 
be made with steamboats running to Cincinnati or even to 
New Orleans. Later the road was continued as far as Illinois; 
but the building of railroads made its farther extension un¬ 
necessary. 



CHICAGO IN 1820 


The marvelous development of the West is without a parallel 
in history. It was given additional impulse by the great tide 
of foreign immigration which, from 1815 to 1848, increased the 
population of the United States by more than two millions. 

303. New States. Largely as a result of this development 
of the West, five new states were admitted into the Union— 
Mississippi, a slave state (1817); Illinois, a free state (1818); 
Alabama, a slave state (1819); Maine, a free state (1820); and 
Missouri, a slave state (1821). 
























































































james monroe’s administration 231 

304. Slavery—The Missouri Compromise. By the Ordinance 
of 1787 slavery had been prohibited in the Northwest Territory. 
When Missouri—which is partly north and partly south of the 
Ohio River, the southern boundary of the Northwest Territory,— 
applied for admission into the Union as a slave state, the north¬ 
ern people opposed its admission. They demanded that there 
should be no more slave states. The Southerners insisted that 
each state had the right to decide for itself whether it should be 
free or slave, and that Missouri, therefore, should be admitted as 
a slave state. The real issue between the North and the South, 
however, was the question of representation in the Senate. At 
this time there were eleven free states and eleven slave states. 
This meant equal representation in the Senate. The admission 
of Missouri would give a majority of votes to either the North 
or the South, and hence each was determined to gain control. 
For two years Congress debated and quarreled over the question. 
Finally, partly through the influence of Henry Clay, Congress 
passed an act (1820) which settled the difficulty for a time. 
This act, known as the Missouri Compromise, provided (1) that 
Maine be admitted as a free state, (2) that Missouri be admitted 
as a slave state, and (3) that the remainder of the Louisiana 
Purchase, north of the parallel of 36° 30', or the southern 
boundary of Missouri, be forever free soil. 

305. The Monroe Doctrine. The Spanish-American colonies 
in Central and South America, and Mexico, encouraged by the 
example of the United States, rebelled against Spain, declared 
their independence, and set up republics of their own. Spain 
was unable to suppress the rebellions, but thought that the 
Holy Alliance might aid her. This alliance had been formed in 
1815, by the rulers of Russia, Austria, and Prussia for the pur¬ 
pose of preventing the people of any European monarchy from 
overthrowing their government. At this same time Russia, 
which then owned Alaska, was planting colonies along the 
Pacific coast and was threatening our claims to the Oregon 
country. 


232 


A HISTORY OF THE'UNITED STATES 


John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State, urged President 
Monroe to protest against interference by European govern¬ 
ments in American affairs. President Monroe did so in his 
celebrated message to Congress, in which he declared; 

(а) that the United States would take no part in European 

wars; 

(б) that the United States would not interfere with any Euro¬ 

pean colony already established; 

(c) that the United States would regard as an unfriendly act 

any attempt by a European nation to gain dominion in 
America; 

(d) . that North and South America were no longer open to 

colonization by European powers. 

This statement of our attitude has since become known as 
the “Monroe Doctrine.” Before the war of 1812, Europe 
would have been amused at such a declaration, but now it was 
taken seriously, and as a result projects of European interven¬ 
tion were at once abandoned. Great Britain, like the United 
States, recognized the independence of the Spanish-American 
republics; and Russia made a treaty (1824), giving up her 
claim to the Pacific coast as far as Alaska or the latitude 54° 40'. 

306. Lafayette Is the Guest of the Nation. In 1824 the 
Marquis Lafayette, then an old man, revisited the United States 
as the nation’s guest, in response to an invitation of Congress. 
The people, remembering his disinterested services during the 
Revolution, welcomed him with enthusiasm. The venerable 
Frenchman visited every one of the twenty-four states which 
then composed the Union and beheld with wonder the gigantic 
strides the country had taken toward wealth and prosperity. 
He stood with reverent affection at the tomb of Washington, 
and laid the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill monument on the 
spot where Warren had fallen fifty years before. He was finally 
taken home in the national ship, Brandywine, which had been so 
named in honor of Lafayette’s first battle in the cause of Amer¬ 
ican freedom. 


JAMES MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION 233 

307. The Tariff Law of 1824. The tariff law of 1816 had not 

produced satisfactory results. Consequently, another act was 
passed (1824), increasing the duties on iron, wool, hemp, and 
woolen goods. 

The South, being an agricultural section and having no fac¬ 
tories, protested that the high tariff diminished foreign trade, 
injured the market for their cotton in Europe, and compelled 
them to pay higher prices for the goods they were obliged to buy. 

The West favored the law, arguing that the encouragement of 
manufacturing in the East would give it markets near at hand 
for its surplus products, and that the revenues resulting from 
the tariff would enable the government to construct new means 
of transportation across the Alleghanies. 

The North supported the tariff, because it prevented the sale 
of foreign goods at a lower price than those produced at home. 
As a result, the votes of the western, middle, and eastern states 
overruled those of the South, and the bill was passed. 

308. Indian Missions. The Catholic Indian missions on the 
Mississippi had been revived by Bishop Dubourg of New Or¬ 
leans. The Jesuits opened a school for Indian boys at Florissant, 
Missouri (1824), near the junction of the Missouri and Missis¬ 
sippi Rivers, where the Ladies of the Sacred Heart had already 
established a school for Indian girls. Among the Jesuits at 
Florissant was Father John De Smet, one of several young 
Belgians who had come to the United States. He devoted the 
whole of his life to the Indian missions. His extraordinary 
career recalled the heroic days of Fathers Jogues and Breboeuf, 
and merited for him the title “Apostle of the Rocky Mountains,” 
just as the princely Father Gallitzin received the title “ Apostle 
of the Alleghanies.” 


Questions 

1. Why is James Monroe’s administration called the “Era of Good Feel¬ 
ing”? What new territory was acquired? How? What national improve¬ 
ments were made to aid the westward movement? 


234 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


2. Before Louisiana was purchased what was the boundary line between 
free and slave states? State the important provisions of the Missouri Com¬ 
promise. Show on the map the territory affected. 

3. What was the Monroe Doctrine? Why is it important? With what 
reference to the World War have you heard it discussed? 

4. Who laid the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill monument? 

5. What was the purpose of the tariff of 1824? Why did the South oppose 
it? 

6. Describe the work done by Catholics among the Indians. 

Theme Topics 

1. The Work of Father De Smet. 

2. Lafayette’s Visit to the United States. 


CHAPTER XXII 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS’S ADMINISTRATION 


NATIONAL-REPUBLICAN—1825-1829 


309. Adams and Calhoun Are Elected. In 1824 the presi¬ 
dential election, for the second time in the history of the United 
States, went to the House of Representatives. The House 
chose for the presidency John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. 
John C. Calhoun was elected 
Vice-president. 

John Quincy Adams (1767- 
1848) was the eldest son of the 
nation’s second President, John 
Adams. He was a statesman of 
great ability, also, having been 
schooled from his youth in public 
affairs. He had been a United 
States Senator, Minister to Rus¬ 
sia and to Great Britain, and Sec¬ 
retary of State under Monroe. 

310. Two Great Problems— 

Political Parties. At this time 
new problems began to present 
themselves, and finally led to a difference of political views on 
the following questions: 

(а) should internal improvements be made by Congress at 

national expense? 

(б) is the true policy of the country a tariff for revenue only 

or a tariff for the protection of home industries? 

The advocates of a protective tariff and of internal im¬ 
provements at national expense gathered around Adams and 

235 


JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 



236 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Clay as leaders, and called themselves National Republicans, 
because they sought to increase the power of the national 
government. They were, in a general way, the descendants 
of the Federalist party. 

Another party, the stronger in number, the old Democratic- 
Republicans, gathered around Andrew Jackson, under the name 
of Democrats. They advocated a low tariff and internal improve¬ 
ments at the expense of the respective states. They may be 
considered as representing Jefferson’s party. 

311. The Erie Canal. The eastern markets, seeing how the 
New Orleans steamboats distributed European goods to the 



THE ERIE CANAL 


western settlers, demanded that Congress build canals between 
the East and the West. Congress, however, felt that it did 
not have the right under the Constitution to do this. Mean¬ 
while, the various states were making internal improvements at 
their own expense. De Witt Clinton, governor of New York, 
believing that a canal connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson 
River would draw trade from the Great Lakes and the Mis¬ 
sissippi Valley, thus making New York a great commercial cen¬ 
ter, persuaded the legislature of New York to build the Erie 
Canal at the expense of the state. This important waterway, 
begun in 1817, and completed during Adams’s administration 





JOHN QUINCY ADAMS’S ADMINISTRATION 


237 


(1825), extended from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on the 
Hudson. It was three hundred sixty-three miles long, forty 
feet wide, and four feet (later seven) deep. It became the great 
commercial highway between the East and the West, reduced 
the transportation charges nearly tenfold, helped to make New 
York the leading commercial city of America, and gave rise to 
other numerous flourishing cities along its course. 

312. Roads—Canals—Railroads. Pennsylvania, unwilling 
that New York should have all the Western trade, built a chain 
of canals and roads between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Balti- 




? stC.'P, -ti— 



vji I 

2 

■hin i 

gg| 









sgglllllll 


AN EARLY RAILROAD 


more also tried to improve her connections with the West. Sev¬ 
eral western states started to build canals, but before many 
of them were finished the first railroads came into use, forming 
new and better means of transportation. 

The first passenger railroad (1827) extended from Balti¬ 
more to Ellicott’s Mills, a distance of about thirteen miles. 
This road afterwards became a part of the Baltimore and 
Ohio Railroad. The cars on the track resembled huge wagons 
on wooden rails, and were drawn by horses. The horses were 
soon displaced (1831) by steam engines, which ran at the 
rapid rate of fifteen miles an hour. Charles Carroll of Carroll- 






































238 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ton, ninety-one years of age (1827), the only surviving signer of 
the Declaration of Independence, turned the first spadeful of 
earth which began the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad. When the ceremony was over, he exclaimed, “I 
consider this one of the most important acts of my life, second 
only to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” 

313. The Tariff of Abominations. Many manufacturers, 
claiming that the tariff of 1824 did not give them sufficient pro¬ 
tection, especially on woolen goods, demanded higher tariff 
rates. A bill which increased the duties on certain raw articles 
to a ridiculously high figure was therefore prepared. This bill 
passed both Houses of Congress (1828), and is known as the 
“Tariff of Abominations.” The duty on wool, for example, was 
raised from about thirty to about seventy per cent, and that on 
hemp from thirty-five to sixty dollars per ton. 

314. Protests Against the Tariff—National Authority Defied. 
In 1816 John C. Calhoun had favored a protective tariff to en¬ 
courage domestic industry, while Daniel Webster had opposed it 
as hostile to the shipping interests of his state. Now, however, 
Webster advocated protection, and Calhoun opposed it. Five 
of the southern states protested against the Tariff Bill. Calhoun, 
as the champion of this movement, suggested that the state of 
South Carolina hold a convention which would declare the act 
“null and void within the limits of the state.” This was the 
same doctrine which had been expressed in the Virginia and 
Kentucky Resolutions and in the Hartford Convention—the 
doctrine of nullification. 


Questions 

1. How was John Quincy Adams elected? Find the provision in the Con¬ 
stitution which allowed this. 

2. What are internal improvements? How did the National Republicans 
answer the two great political questions? How did the Democrats answer 
them? 

3. What internal improvements were made? Trace their location on the 
map. 


JOHN QUINCY ADAMS’S ADMINISTRATION 


239 


4. Why was the tariff of 1828 known as the Tariff of Abominations? What 
did Calhoun want South Carolina to do about it? When and where had that 
idea been expressed before? 


Theme Topics 

1. The Building of the Erie Canal. 

2. Write an imaginative theme of two paragraphs describing a trip taken 
on an early railroad. (See picture on page 237.) 


CHAPTER XXIII 


ANDREW JACKSON’S ADMINISTRATION 

DEMOCRAT—1829-1837 

315. Jackson Elected. Andrew Jackson was the first man 
of humble birth and of little culture to become President. 
Born in the Carolina backwoods (1767), and left alone in the 
world at fifteen, he grew up amid the hostilities of the Revolution. 
Later, he made his wa}^ to that part of North Carolina now 

known as Tennessee, and with a 
little knowledge of law began 
practice at the bar. He distin¬ 
guished himself as a soldier, be¬ 
came a national hero in the war 
against the Creeks, in 1812, 
served as territorial governor of 
Florida, and became successively 
a United States Representative 
and Senator from Tennessee. 
The great popularity gained in 
his battles with the Indians and 
his wonderful endurance of hard¬ 
ships won for him the affection¬ 
ate nickname of “Old Hickory.” 
Though unconventional in dress 
and manners, uneducated, self- 
confident and headstrong, he was noted for generosity of heart, 
honesty, and fearlessness. While hating his enemies intensely, 
he was devotedly attached to his friends, and even so blind to 
their faults that, at times, he unconsciously became the instru- 

240 




Andrew jackson’s administration 241 

ment through which unprincipled office and money seekers 
accomplished their schemes. 

316. The Spoils System. No sooner was Jackson inaugu¬ 
rated than crowds of his supporters hastened to Washington to 
receive their reward. Believing that “to the victors belong the 
spoils,” Jackson allowed the “spoils system,” already in opera¬ 
tion in all the states, to be introduced into the national admin¬ 
istration. The old officials who 
belonged to the defeated party 
were turned out, and their places 
were filled with men belonging 
to the successful party. During 
the first year of his presidency 
Jackson removed more officials 
than his six predecessors had re¬ 
moved in forty years. Thus be¬ 
gan the corrupt system called 
“rotation in office.” It is but 
just, however, to say that Jack- 
son was desirous of appointing 
only men of ability, although he 
was frequently misled in his 
selection through the advice of 
friends. Consequently, a large 
number of political scandals marked his administration, though 
he himself was honest. 

317. The Webster-Hayne Debate. While the topics of tariff 
and nullification were being discussed, one of the greatest debates 
in our annals took place in the United States Senate (1830) 
between Robert Y. Hayne, the spokesman of Calhoun, and 
Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. Hayne, presenting Calhoun’s 
theory of states’ rights, declared that the Constitution was a 
mere compact formed by sovereign states, from which any state 
might withdraw whenever it saw fit to do so. A state, said 
Hayne, might declare an act of Congress null and void in case it 



DANIEL WEBSTER 











242 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


thought that the government had exceeded its powers. Webster 
replied that the Constitution was the “supreme law of the people 
and answerable to the people”; hence, that no state had the right 
to withdraw from the Union; neither could any state nullify 
an act of Congress on the ground that such act was unconstitu¬ 
tional, since it belonged to the Supreme Court, and not to the 
state courts, to decide the constitutionality of the acts of 
Congress. 

Webster’s closing words, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, 
one and inseparable,” which rang through the hall then, have 
rung throughout the land to the present day. The debate won 
for Webster the title of “Defender of the Constitution.” 

318. The South Carolina Nullification Act. The “tariff of 
abominations” had brought South Carolina, led by Calhoun, 
to the verge of rebellion and secession. The state was only 
waiting to see what the new administration would do. Though 
Congress (1832), in revising the tariff of 1828, slightly low¬ 
ered the rates, it also recognized the protective tariff system 
South Carolina promptly passed the Nullification Act, which 
declared that the tariff acts of 1828 and 1832, being “null, void, 
and no law,” were not binding upon the states or their citizens. 
She threatened to leave the Union in case the Federal govern¬ 
ment attempted to enforce the acts. This Nullification Act was 
to go into effect February 1, 1833. 

Enraged by South Carolina’s action, the President promptly 
sent General Scott and two war vessels to the port of Charleston, 
and ordered the revenue commissioners at that port to codec'; 
the duties on imports under the protection of a military force. 
He issued a proclamation which declared that the Constitution 
did not form a compact, but a government; that nullification 
was unconstitutional; and that he would enforce the laws with¬ 
out fear or favor. 

The South Carolina leaders knew that Jackson was not in 
favor of high tariff duties, and hoped to win him for their cause. 
In this they were greatly disappointed. Jackson, in a bold 


Andrew jackson’s administration 


243 


declaration that the laws of the United States must be executed, 
said: “My duty is emphatically pronounced in the Constitution: 
those who told you that you might peaceably prevent their 
execution deceived you—their object is disunion, and disunion 
by armed force is treason.” 

Meanwhile Henry Clay intro¬ 
duced (1833) a compromise tariff 
measure, by which tariff rates 
were to be reduced gradually for 
ten years (until July, 1842), 
from which time there should be 
on all imported articles a duty 
equal to twenry per cent of their 
value. Clay’s Compromise Tar¬ 
iff passed Congress. Satisfied 
by this act, South Carolina re¬ 
pealed her nullification ordi¬ 
nances. 

319. Jackson and the Bank. 

Jackson, like most other Demo- henry clay 

crats, believed that the United 

States Bank was unconstitutional; that it enriched its managers 
at the expense of the people; that it had grown corrupt and 
dangerous to the freedom of the country; and that it used its 
powerful influence in politics. 

Upon Clay’s advice, the friends of the Bank (1832) brought 
matters to a crisis by introducing into Congress a bill to recharter 
it for twenty years longer, though the old charter would not 
expire till 1836. After a heated discussion, lasting five months, 
the bill passed both houses of Congress. Jackson, however, 
promptly vetoed it. The campaign cry for 1832 became “Jack- 
son or the Bank.” 

320. Jackson Is Reelected—He Withdraws the Government 
Deposits. Jackson was reelected President (1832) by an over¬ 
whelming majority over Henry Clay. Martin Van Buren was 








244 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


chosen Vice-president to succeed Calhoun, who had served 
during Jackson’s first term of office. 

Regarding his reelection as an approval of his anti-Bank 
policy, Jackson decided to give the Bank a final blow. He 
promptly ordered (1833) the removal of the government de¬ 
posits from the Bank, and the placing of future deposits in 
certain state banks, situated chiefly in the South and West. 
These banks came to be known as “pet banks.” Meanwhile, 
state banks, termed “wild-cat banks,” were springing up on 
every side. The origin of the name “wild-cat” banks came 
about as follows: The notes of a Michigan bank bore on them a 
picture of a wild-cat; when this bank failed its notes became 
known as wild-cat notes and, subsequently, all banks that could 
not redeem their bills (pay them in gold or silver) were called 
“wild-cat banks,” and their notes “wild-cat money.” Within 
eight years the number of these banks increased from three hun¬ 
dred twenty-nine to seven hundred eighty-eight. Hundreds of 
these, having no capital at all, received deposits, and flooded 
the country with their notes, called “rag money.” People could 
now borrow money more easily than ever before. This “wild¬ 
cat banking” gave rise to even wilder speculation, which ex¬ 
tended to evey branch of trade, especially in the western states 
and territories. Eager to grow rich, people bought government 
lands which they expected to sell at enormously increased rates. 
Everybody was borrowing in order to buy, sell, and get rich. 

321. Jackson’s Specie Circular. Jackson, becoming greatly 
alarmed, determined to protect at least the United States 
Treasury against unsound money. Contrary to the advice of 
the Cabinet, he issued (1836) his celebrated “Specie Circular,” 
by which he ordered the land agents to receive only gold and 
silver in payment for government land. The effects were imme¬ 
diate. The great demand for gold and silver created a scarcity 
of this coin. A crash was inevitable, but before.it came Jack- 
son had retired from office, confident that the “Specie Circular” 
would restore prosperity. 


Andrew jackson’s administration 


245 


322. Surplus Government Money Loaned to the States. By 

January, 1835, the government had paid all its debts. It was 
collecting about thirty-five million dollars revenue a year more 
than it could expend. The “pet banks” had already received 
about eleven million dollars. Acting on the advice of Calhoun, 
Congress loaned, without interest, the surplus funds to the states, 
in proportion to the number of their representatives. It was 
not long before the financial crash came, and the government 
was obliged to borrow money to pay its current expenses. The 
money loaned to the states, and never recalled, was used chiefly 
in the construction of public works. 



HEADING OP GARRISON’S PAPER 


323. Anti-Slavery Movement. William Lloyd Garrison, a 
Boston printer, who had spent some time in the South and had 
come face to face with slavery on its own soil, established an 
anti-slavery paper, called the “Liberator,” in which he expressed 
hostility to slavery. He declared that it should be abolished 
at once, denouncing it as “a sin against God and a crime against 
man.” But the prevalent sentiment of the North at the time 
was against abolition, because it was feared that the abolition 
movement would imperil the peace of the country. Many people 
held with Webster that it was better to save the Union with 
slavery than to destroy it deliberately for the sake of giving 
freedom to the negro. 



































246 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Within a year, however, the influence of Garrison’s writings 
had spread so widely that hundreds of societies had been formed 
in the North for the purpose of abolishing slavery. They num¬ 
bered among their members the famous Wendell Philips, called 
the “silver-tongued orator,” and Theodore Parker, a learned 
preacher who, in burning language, rebuked the advocates of 
slavery. Lectures, pamphlets, books, and newspapers propa¬ 
gated among the people the anti-slavery ideas of the aboli¬ 
tionists. 

324. The “Gag Law.” The abolitionists flooded Congress 
with petitions to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia 
and to discontinue the trade of slaves between the different 
southern states. The Southerners, dreading the effects of the 
constant discussions of the slavery topic, passed in the House 
of Representatives a “gag law,” by which all bills relating in 
any way to the subject of slavery should be laid aside without 
any further action thereon. John Quincy Adams denounced 
the “gag law” before the House as a direct violation of the Con¬ 
stitution, but it continued in effect for several years (1836-1844). 

The southern people held that inasmuch as the whole indus¬ 
trial system of the South was built upon slavery, abolition 
would cause the financial ruin of their section of the Union. 

325. Foreign Affairs. Before Mexican independence was 
established, some hundred American families, under Stephen F. 
Austin, settled, with the consent of Spain, in that part of Mex¬ 
ico which is included in the present state of Texas. After 
Mexico had declared her independence of Spain, the Texans 
declared their independence. Mexico immediately declared war 
against Texas. At Fort Alamo, a former Franciscan mission 
house, the Texan garrison was overpowered and massacred. 
Thereafter the rallying cry of Texas was, “Remember the 
Alamo!” Finally, under Samuel Houston, the Texans defeated 
the Mexicans, under Santa Anna, in the battle of San Jacinto; 
thus Texan independence was secured (1836), and was acknowl¬ 
edged by the United States (1837). 


Andrew jackson’s administration 


247 


326. New States. Two states were admitted during the 
administration: Arkansas, a slave state, as the twenty-fifth 
(1836); and Michigan, a free state, as the twenty-sixth (1837). 

327. First Provincial Council—Anti-Catholic Attacks. Dur¬ 
ing Jackson’s administration the first Provincial Council (the 
first held in the nineteenth 
century and the first 
in any English-speaking 
country since the Refor¬ 
mation) was convened in 
1829 at Baltimore. At 
this Council Archbishop 
Whitefield and five of 
the eight bishops of the 
United States represented 
the Catholic Church in 
America, and many wise 
regulations for its govern¬ 
ment were adopted. 

From the beginning of 
the establishment of Cath¬ 
olicity in America, there 
existed a party called 
Nativists, which, under 
the pretext of defending American institutions, carried on 
a warfare, sometimes open and sometimes secret, against the 
Catholic Church. Although there had been no open sign of 
hostility against the Catholic Church for nearly a generation, 
unhappily, as time went on, its growth was regarded by the 
Nativists with disfavor. Vile books, sermons, and lectures 
against the Catholic religion gradually gave rise to such excite¬ 
ment that a mob (August 11, 1834) attacked the Ursuline Con¬ 
vent at Charlestown, near Boston, drove out the defenseless 
nuns and children, and burned their home to the ground. St. 
Mary’s Church in New York was also plundered and burned. 















248 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


The government made no attempt to prevent these outrages, 
and the leaders were subjected to only a farcical trial, which 
resulted in their acquittal. 


Questions 

1. Contrast Andrew Jackson with George Washington. 

2. What is meant by the spoils system? How have we lessened its evils? 

3. What is meant by nullification? What great debate took place in 
Congress on this question? What were each speaker’s arguments? What 
was Jackson’s attitude? How did Jackson receive South Carolina’s Nullifi¬ 
cation Act? How was South Carolina pacified? 

4. What was Jackson’s attitude toward the United States Bank? What 
did he do? Explain “wild-cat” money and banks. What was Jackson’s 
Specie Circular? What resulted from its issuance? 

5. What did Garrison propose? Who helped him? Why did the North 
at first oppose the abolition of slavery? What was the “Gag Law”? 

6. How did Texas become a part of the United States? 

7. When and where was the first Provincial Council held in America? 
Describe the work of the Nativists. 

Theme Topics 

1. Be prepared to give during the language period a description of the life 
of Andrew Jackson. 

2. Describe orally the Hayne-Webster debate. 

3. Find out as much as you can about how banks issue money today, and 
write a short theme on it. 


CHAPTER XXIV 

MARTIN VAN BUREN’S ADMINISTRATION 

DEMOCRAT-1837-1844 

328. Van Buren Elected. Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), 
the eighth President, was born of Dutch ancestry at Kinder- 
hook, New York. He had been United States Senator, Governor 
of New York, Secretary of State, and Vice-president. Though 
unpopular from the beginning 
of his administration, Van Buren 
showed himself to be an able 
political manager, winning by 
tact and geniality in dealing 
with his opponents the title 
“Little Magician.” 

329. The Panic of 1837. Van 
Buren had scarcely taken the 
oath of office before the country 
was in the midst of the worst 
financial panic it had ever ex¬ 
perienced. People who had 
gone in debt were ruined. Bank 

* after bank—“pet banks” and 
“wild-cat banks”—failed. Busi¬ 
ness houses went bankrupt. Fac- martin van buren 

tories closed their doors, and 

thousands of laborers were thrown out of work. Poor crops in the 
middle and western states added to the general distress. High 
prices and high rents weighed heavily on the poor. Flour rose 
to eleven dollars a barrel and corn to one dollar and fifteen cents 

249 





250 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


per bushel. Strikes and bread riots occurred in cities, and the 
people called loudly for help from the government. But the 
national government had not even the money to pay its officials. 
Adams truthfully declared, “Without a dollar of national debt, 
we are in the midst of national bankruptcy.” Individual states 
had borrowed millions of dollars from European nations and 
now found it impossible to raise money to pay the principal or 
to meet the interest. For many years afterwards Europeans 
looked with disfavor on American securities. 

The causes for the panic may be traced to reckless banking 
and to wild speculation. The danger of the banking system 
arose from the fact that the banks issued notes (promises of 
money), though they had no money or capital to redeem their 
promise. 

330. The Independent Treasury. The experience which the 
government had passed through twice (1814, 1837) proved that 
it was not safe to deposit the nation’s money in state banks. 
Van Buren called a special session of Congress to devise some 
plan for protecting the funds of the United States. This session 
passed (1840) the Independent Treasury Act, which provided 
that the government should maintain a safe place in which to 
keep its money in order that the nation’s funds might not be 
exposed to a risk of loss in state banks, as was the case in the 
disastrous failure of the “pet banks.” Congress furthermore 
provided that all the officials of the government should give 
security for the proper discharge of their duties, and that all 
payments to or by the United States should be exclusively in 
gold or silver. 

The Independent Treasury plan was repealed soon after, but 
was later reenacted (1846), and is in existence today. By this 
excellent system, which we owe mainly to President Van Buren, 
the public money is deposited in vaults and safes in the Treasury 
building at Washington, and in the Sub-treasuries of New York, 
Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, San Fran¬ 
cisco, New Orleans, and Baltimore. 


MARTIN VAN SUREN’S ADMINISTRATION 


251 


331. The Mormons. A new religious sect, the Mormons, or 
“ Latter-Day Saints,” sprang up about 1830, at Manchester, 
New York. Its leader, Joseph Smith, the son of a Vermont 
farmer, claimed to have received from heaven, revelations writ¬ 
ten in mystic characters on plates of brass. From the beginning 
the new sect met with great opposition because of its strange 
teachings. Smith and his followers emigrated to Ohio (1831), 
but they were soon driven out of the state by the citizens 
(1838). They later met the same fate in Missouri. In Illinois, 
where they were kindly received, they built their “Holy City,” 
Nauvoo, and gathered in that vicinity to the number of twenty 
thousand. Later, however, Smith aroused popular indig¬ 
nation by causing the destruction of a press which had de¬ 
nounced his doctrine of polygamy. In 1844 the Mormon leader 
and his brother were imprisoned and later shot by a mob, in 
the jail at Carthage, Illinois. 

Shortly after, the Mormons, under their new leader, Brigham 
Young, moved westward and founded Salt Lake City, Utah 
(1847). 

332. Foreign Immigration—Progress of Catholicity. A regu¬ 
lar line of steamships had been established between Liverpool 
and Boston (1830), and later between Liverpool and New York, 
and immigration poured into the United States. In ten years 
(1830-1840) more than one hundred thousand Europeans landed 
in New York alone. 

This decade of immigration marks a period of great develop¬ 
ment in Catholicity throughout the United States. New bish¬ 
oprics were erected in the West; cathedrals were built; con¬ 
vents, seminaries, colleges, schools, and orphan asylums founded; 
and a number of Catholic newspapers established. Unfortu¬ 
nately many of the immigrants were loud in expressing their 
old world national prejudices. The formation of the Holy 
Alliance; enthusiastic lectures given in Europe for the purpose 
of encouraging missionary work in the United States; the 
founding of the Leopoldina Society in Vienna, Austria, for the 


252 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


same purpose—all these activities were persistently misinter¬ 
preted as so many attempts of the Catholic powers to destroy 
the free institutions of America. Bigots of the worst type 
incited the imagination of Protestants against the Church and 
assailed her from pulpit and platform. 

Conscience obliged the American Catholics to maintain their 
own parochial schools, but at the same time they were taxed 
for the support of the public schools. Accordingly, they de¬ 
manded a share in the public educational funds. Moreover, 
they demanded that in the public schools the Protestant Bible 
should not be forced on Catholic children. The latter demand 
was granted them in course of time, but they have never been 
relieved from double taxation. 

333. Political Parties. The country was now divided into 

three parties: 

(a) the Whig (National-Republican), which had gained greatly 

in strength, as it had been reenforced by adherents 
from the South who opposed Jackson’s views on the 
question of nullification; 

(b) the Democratic party; 

(c) the Anti-slavery, or Liberty party, an outgrowth of the 

abolition movement. 


Questions 

1. What caused the financial panic during Van Buren’s administration? 
What happened to the country? What did Congress do to protect govern¬ 
ment money in the future? 

2. Who were the Mormons? Trace their movement westward. 

3. What were the effects of immigration upon the progress of Catholicity? 

4. What three political parties were now in existence? 

Theme Topic 

Write a short sketch of the life of Van Buren. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE HARRISON-TYLER ADMINISTRATION 


WHIG—1841-1845 



334. Harrison Elected—Tyler Succeeds Him. William Har¬ 
rison (1773-1841), the ninth President, was a native of Virginia, 
and the son of Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence. He was the hero of Tippecanoe and of the 
victory on the Thames (1812). He had been Governor of 
Indiana Territory and had 
served as Representative and 
Senator in the United States 
Congress. For a number of 
years he had taken no part in 
public life; in fact, at the time 
of his election he was attending 
to the affairs of his farm in Ohio. 

One month after his inaugura¬ 
tion, he suddenly died. 

John Tyler, the Vice-presi¬ 
dent, succeeded to the presi¬ 
dency. Although Tyler had 
been elected by the Whigs, he 
was at heart a Democrat. After 
he had become President, he 
constantly quarreled with the 
men who had elected him, he an¬ 
gered his Cabinet by refusing to carry out their suggestions, and he 
estranged himself from the members of Congress by vetoing 
bills that they considered of the highest importance. When 
the President vetoed two bills relating to banks, the Whigs be- 


JOHN TYLER 


253 




254 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


came indignant. Every member of his cabinet except Webster, 
the Secretary of State, resigned. Webster remained in order 
to complete a negotiation that had been begun with Great 
Britain. 

335. Webster-Ashburton Treaty. By an agreement between 
Webster and Lord Ashburton, of England, a treaty was signed 
(1842) at Washington. This treaty fixed the disputed north¬ 
eastern boundary of Maine, between the United States and 
Canada, as far west as the Lake of the Woods. It also renewed 
our fishing rights in British waters, and settled one or two other 
disputed questions. 

336. Dorr’s Rebellion. Rhode Island was still governed by 
its colonial charter. Under it no man was allowed to vote 
unless he held real estate worth one hundred and thirty-four 
dollars, or property renting for seven dollars a year, or was 
the eldest son of such a “freeman.” An attempt of the people 
to secure a more liberal state constitution (1842) ended in the 
so-called Dorr Rebellion. The “people’s party,” headed by 
Thomas W. Dorr, proceeded to seize the state property by 
force and to set up a government under a new constitution. 
Tyler sent United States troops into the state to uphold the 
old government. Dorr was convicted and sentenced to im¬ 
prisonment for life, but was eventually pardoned. Later a 
more liberal constitution was adopted. 

337. The First Electric Telegraph. Samuel F. B. Morse, after 
four years of effort (1844), finally received from Congress a grant 
of thirty thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting an ex¬ 
perimental telegraph line between Baltimore and Washing¬ 
ton (forty miles). The first message, “ What hath God wrought,” 
proved the success of an invention which today covers the 
United States like a network. The first public message was 
the announcement of the nomination of James K. Polk for the 
presidency by a Democratic convention. 

338. Native-American Riots. The Native-American party, 
which had been founded by the Nativists in 1841, caused a 


THE HARRISON-TYLER ADMINISTRATION 


255 



dreadful riot in Philadelphia (1844). An army of ruffians, 
hounded on by pulpit harangues of fanatical ministers, destroyed 
two Catholic churches, a house of the Sisters of Charity, the 
valuable library of the Augustinian Fathers, and a number of 
private dwellings occupied by Catholics. A similar riot in New 
York was prevented by the firmness of Bishop Hughes, the 
champion of Catholicity and Catholic education in the state. 


54° 40' 


THE OREGON COUNTRY 

During the agitation of the “School Question” (1841) Bishop 
Hughes again, with matchless ability, defended the Catholic 
side in the Legislature. 

339. The Annexation of Texas and the Occupation of Oregon 
Become Party Issues. Texas had applied for admission into 
the Union during Van Buren’s administration, but the Presi¬ 
dent did not favor its annexation. The matter was again 












256 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


urged during Tyler’s administration, and a treaty was finally 
negotiated by Calhoun as secretary of state by which Texas was 
to become an American territory. This was rejected by the Senate. 
The question now became the leading issue in the presidential 
campaign of the year. There was much opposition in the North 
to the admission of Texas, partly because it threatened to 
involve the country in war with Mexico, and partly because 
it would increase the area of slavery. On these grounds Clay, 
though in favor of annexation, opposed immediate action. 

A treaty (1818) with Great Britain had left the Oregon coun¬ 
try for ten years to joint occupancy, and another treaty made 
by the United States and Russia had fixed the parallel of 54° 
40' as the extreme southern boundary of Alaska. Meanwhile 
about twelve thousand Americans had settled in Oregon, and 
they naturally demanded a settlement of the boundary and an 
end of joint occupancy. At first the United States had been 
willing to extend the line of the forty-ninth parallel, which was 
the boundary line to the Rockies, all the way to the Pacific, but 
Great Britain refused. Soon the matter became a party 
question. 

The platform of the Democratic party now included the an¬ 
nexation of Texas and the re-occupation of Oregon. It claimed 
that the annexation of Texas, which was slave soil, could be 
offset by the acquisition of the whole of Oregon, which was 
free soil; hence, the Democratic campaign cries were: “The 
annexation of Texas,” “Fifty-four forty or fight.” 

The missionaries were among the first Americans to find 
their way to the Oregon country. Through the Canadian fur 
trading posts a number of them, among whom were Fathers 
Blanchet and Demers, came from Montreal to Oregon and es¬ 
tablished many missions. Two years later the youthful and 
saintly Father De Smet, the famous Jesuit missionary of Flor- 
rissant, Missouri, set out from the Missouri River with a large 
party of Oregon-bound emigrants, and founded (1841) the first 
of his many missions among the Flathead Indians. Not long 


THE HARRISON-TYLER ADMINISTRATION 


257 


after, he brought from Europe to the Oregon missions four 
priests and six sisters of Notre Dame of Namur. The sisters 
at once opened a school for girls. So rapid was the progress 
of the Catholic Church in Oregon that Father Blanchet was 
soon appointed bishop (1843). 

340. New States. Tyler, foreseeing the outcome of the presi¬ 
dential campaign, urged the annexation of Texas. Three days 
before the expiration of his term a resolution annexing it to 
the United States as a slave state (twenty-eighth state) passed 
Congress, and was immediately signed by the President (1845). 
During the same year Florida had been admitted into the 
Union as the twenty-seventh state, with slavery. 

Questions 

1. Why did practically all of President Tyler’s cabinet resign? 

2. What was the Webster-Ashburton Treaty? 

3. What caused Dorr’s rebellion? 

4. Why did the North oppose the annexation of Texas? Why did the 
South advocate the “Fifty-four forty line’’? Find the location of the parallel 
54° 40' on the map of North America. 

• Theme Topics 

1. Samuel F. B. Morse. 

2. Be prepared to give orally a short account of the life and work of Daniel 
Webster. 


CHAPTER XXVI 



JAMES K. POLK’S ADMINISTRATION 


DEMOCRAT—1845-1849 


341. Polk Elected. James K. Polk (1795-1849), the eleventh 
President, was a native of North Carolina. He was successively 

congressman, governor of Ten¬ 
nessee, where he had moved in 
1806, and speaker of the House 
of Representatives, but was in 
no wise an eminent or brilliant 
man. However, like Jackson, 
his intimate friend, he was a man 
of stanch character. No sooner 
had he been inaugurated than he 
proceeded with much vigor to 
carry out his party’s policy. 

342. Polk’s Program. Polk 
was elected mainly to effect the 
annexation of Texas, but he 
found this task performed before 
he came into office. He at once 
determined upon four measures, 
all of which, with a Democratic 
majority in Congress, he carried out successfully: 

(а) the reduction of the tariff; 

(б) the reestablishment of the Independent Treasury (1846); 

(c) the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute by a treaty 

with Great Britain (1846), which provided that the line 
of 49° (the boundary from the Lake of the Woods to 

258 


JAMES K. POLK 




JAMES K. POLK’S ADMINISTRATION 


259 


the crest of the Rocky Mountains) be extended through 
the Oregon country to the Pacific; 

(d) the acquisition of California. 

343. Pretexts for War with Mexico—War Declared. A boun¬ 
dary dispute arose between Texas and Mexico. Texas main¬ 
tained that her territory extended to the Rio Grande; Mexico 
claimed the Nueces River as its boundary limit. President Polk, 



siding with the Texans, claimed the country as far west as the 
Rio Grande, and ordered General Zachary Taylor (April, 1846) 
to occupy the disputed territory. 

The Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande and attacked the 
Americans. Shortly before this, Mexico had refused to re¬ 
ceive our minister. Polk promptly informed Congress, “Mex¬ 
ico has refused to receive our minister, has passed the boundary 


















260 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


of the United States, has invaded our territory, and has shed 
American blood upon American soil.” Congress, adopting 
the assertions of the President without any inquiry into their 
truth, affirmed (May 13, 1846) that the action of the Republic 
of Mexico was a declaration of war against the United States. 
It at once voted money supplies, and called for fifty thousand 
volunteers. 

Calhoun, in the South, and the Whigs in the North, espe¬ 
cially the people of New England and the anti-slavery men, 
strongly opposed war and loudly denounced Polk and his or- 



T'HE ADVANCE TOWARD MEXICO 

ders. Unfortunately, it appears that our government was will¬ 
ing to settle the Oregon boundary dispute by compromise with 
Great Britain, a strong nation, while it enforced by violence 
the whole of its claim against Mexico, a weak nation. 

344. Plan of the War. The plan of the war embraced an 
attack upon the northern part of Mexico, an assault upon the 
Mexican capital, and a naval attack upon the Pacific coast. 

General Taylor started from the mouth of the Nueces River, 
and after a series of victories over the Mexicans, pushed into 
Mexico. General Kearny conquered New Mexico. John C. 
Fremont, who, before the outbreak of the war, had been sent 
to explore the region between Great Salt Lake and the Pacific, 




JAMES K. POLK’S ADMINISTRATION 


261 


conquered California. General Scott, supported by Commodore 
Perry’s fleet, landed at Vera Cruz and marched up the moun¬ 
tain with the intention of taking the city of Mexico. After 
twice defeating the Mexican general, Santa Anna, he tri¬ 
umphantly entered the city (September 18. 1847) where he 
hoisted the American flag. 

345. Mexico Surrenders—The Treaty of Peace. In less than 
two years a series of desperate battles ended in an unbroken 
victory for our arms. The Mexicans, with their army help¬ 
less and their government broken up, were compelled to sub¬ 
mit and sign a treaty of peace (1848) at Guadalupe Hidalgo. 
By this treaty, Mexico gave to the United States all territory 
north of the Rio Grande and Gila Rivers, which, besides Texas, 
comprises New Mexico, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and 
parts of Colorado and Wyoming—in all, nearly one million 
square miles. The United States paid Mexico fifteen million 
dollars and, further, gave three million dollars to American 
citizens who had claims against Mexico. 

346. The Wilmot Proviso. When the outcome of the war 
seemed certain, David Wilmot, a northern anti-slaverj^ man, 
offered to Congress the Wilmot Proviso, which provided that 
slavery be forever excluded from the lands to be acquired from 
Mexico. The whole South rose in opposition. The bill was 
lost in the Senate; but it made the question of slavery in the 
Mexican cession the principal issue in the campaign of 1848. 

The Democrats were divided on the question. The northern 
anti-slavery Democrats favored the Wilmot Proviso; the south¬ 
ern pro-slavery Democrats opposed it. The Whigs also were 
divided, for the southern section opposed the Proviso, while 
the northern greatly favored it. Many of the Whigs separated 
from their party, joined the Democrats who had withdrawn 
from their party, and formed the “Free-Soil” party, which 
adopted as its watchword “Free soil, free speech, free labor, and 
free men.” Thus we see that the two old partieswere beginning 
to break up on the slavery question. 


262 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


347. The Discovery of Gold in California. A few days before 
the peace of Guadalupe (January, 1848), gold was discovered 
in the valley of the Sacramento, about one hundred miles north¬ 
east of San Francisco. James W. Marshall, a millwright in 
the employ of Colonel Sutter, a Swiss settler, found a num¬ 
ber of kernels of metal which were about the size of grains 
of wheat; upon test they proved to be solid gold. The dis¬ 
covery of the precious metal was for a time kept secret; but 
the workers in the mill soon learned of it, and the fact was an- 



A NIGHT ON THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL 

nounced in a San Francisco paper. From all parts of the Union 
and, indeed, from all parts of the world, eager gold seekers, 
afterwards styled “forty-niners,” flocked over the plains, across 
the isthmus or around the Horn, to the gold fields. By the 
autumn of 1849, California contained nearly one hundred 
thousand people, and San Francisco sprang up, as if by magic, 
from a little village to a city of twenty thousand. This large 
population was composed of all sorts and conditions of men, 
who were at first governed only by vigilance committees and 
























263 


JAMES K. POLK’S ADMINISTRATION 

lynch laws. Before long, however, the people organized them¬ 
selves in an orderly way into a state and adopted a constitu¬ 
tion in which slavery was forbidden. Even before a code of 
laws could be framed for the territory, the Californians asked 
to be admitted to the Union (1850). The Senate, however, 
rejected the application because of the clause in their new con¬ 
stitution which prohibited slavery. 

The discovery of gold in California gave to the United States 
a firm possession of the Pacific coast by rapidly peopling the 
California wilderness. It also caused the establishment of new 
lines of steamships, new railroad routes, and new markets, for 
after the gold mines became less profitable, the people set about 
the cultivation of the land and the raising of sheep and cattle. 
California later became the chief fruit-growing region of the 
United States. 

348. Two New States. During Polk’s administration, two 
non-slaveholding states were admitted to the Union: Iowa 
(1846), the twenty-ninth state, and Wisconsin (1848), the 
thirtieth state. 

349. Indian Missions in Mexico and California. New Mexico 
had been explored and the natives christianized by Spanish 
missionaries more than three hundred years (1539) before the 
territory had become a part of the United States. So rapid 
was the progress of these early missions, that within the space 
of a few years twenty-seven stations were established, many 
of which possessed large churches. The Indian converts, who 
were numbered by thousands, had learned to read and write, 
and had adopted the customs of civilization. Though the hos¬ 
tility of pagan tribes and the oppression of civil authority sadly 
harassed the prosperity of these Catholic Indian missions, they 
have never been entirely suppressed. 

The mission of San Francisco was founded contemporane¬ 
ously with the declaration of American independence (1776). 
The Franciscans, under their superior, Father Serra, estab¬ 
lished San Diego as their first mission (1769). The founding 


264 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



of Monterey followed (1770); then in rapid succession, San 
Francisco (1776), Santa Clara (1777), Los Angeles (1781), 
Santa Barbara (1786), San Jose (1797), and many others, un¬ 
til an unbroken chain of missions, more than twenty in num¬ 
ber, linked San Diego with San Francisco. Under the super¬ 
vision of the zealous sons of St. Francis of Assisi, the roving 
savages were soon won for the Church and civilization, and 
were ultimately transformed into orderly, industrious, and ex- 


THE CHAPEL OP THE SAN GABRIEL MISSION 

pert farmers, masons, or weavers. At one time the Catholic 
missions numbered about thirty thousand Indians, whose thrift 
and prosperity were attested to by their possession of over four 
thousand head of cattle, sixty-two thousand horses, and more 
than three hundred thousand sheep. Many of the missionaries 
had been noted in Spain as men of culture, as soldiers, engi¬ 
neers, artists, lawyers, and physicians before they wore the 
humble garb of their Order, but they did not scorn to labor 






















JAMES K. POLK’S ADMINISTRATION 


265 


with their charges in the fields, in brickyards, at the forge, or 
in the mills. 

By a decree of the Mexican Congress, the Indian missions 
were eventually made state property. The converts being thus 
scattered, within five years the number of Catholic Indians 
was reduced from thirty thousand to four thousand. When 
California became a territory of the United States only a few 
remains of the once prosperous missions could be traced. The 
Jesuits early began (1697) the work of spreading the Gospel 
among the native Indians of Lower California, and continued 
this work until the society was finally expelled from the Spanish 
domains (1767). 

350. America’s Patroness. America, from the very date of 
its discovery, was loyally devoted to the Mother of God. In 
(1846) the Sixth Council of Baltimore, by its first act, solemnly 
chose Mary the Immaculate as patroness of the Catholic Church 
in the United States. 


Questions 

1. During this administration what was done with the tariff? With the 
Treasury? With the Oregon boundary? Locate on the map the 49° parallel. 

2. State the events leading to the Mexican War. Why did the North 
oppose this war? Locate on the map the territory added to the United States 
when the treaty of peace was signed. Compare the area of this territory with 
that obtained by the Louisiana Purchase. Describe the effect of the dis¬ 
covery of gold in California. 

3. What was the Wilmot Proviso? What new party did it cause to be 
formed? Who were included in this new party? 

4. Locate on the map the Indian Missions of California. 

5. Who is the patroness of the Catholic Church in America? 

Theme Topics 

1. The California Mission System. 

2. The Story of Henry Clay. 

3. The Rush for Gold. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


THE TAYLOR-FILLMORE ADMINISTRATION 

WHIG—1849-1853 

351. Taylor and Fillmore Elected. At the election of 1848, 
Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) of Louisiana, the Whig nominee, 
was elected as the twelfth President. Millard Fillmore was 
chosen Vice-president. 

Taylor, a native of Virginia, had fought in the War of 1812, 
the Black Hawk War, and the Mexican War. He was, on the 
whole, more of a soldier than a politician. Though a slave¬ 
holder, he did not desire to see slavery extended to the terri¬ 
tories where the people opposed it. He was much loved by his 
soldiers, who called him ‘‘Old Rough and Ready.” 

352. Debates on the Extension of Slavery in the Territories. 
When General Taylor was inaugurated President, the North 
and the South were already engaged in passionate disputes 
over the slavery problem, which was forcing them farther and 
farther apart. The points in dispute between the two sections 
were chiefly the following: 

(a) the North wanted California admitted as a free-soil state; 

the South would not consent, demanding the division of the 
territory by the extension of the Missouri Compromise line 
(the parallel of 36° 30') to the Pacific; 

( b ) the Northerners insisted that the slave trade be abolished in 

the District of Columbia; the Southerners complained that 
the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 was not enforced in the 
free states and demanded a new and more stringent law; 

(c) the North demanded that there be no more slave states 

and no more slave territory; the South wanted slavery 
legalized in Utah and New Mexico; 

266 


THE TAYLOR-FILLMORE ADMINISTRATION 


267 


(d) Texas claimed the part of New Mexico lying east of the 
Rio Grande. She also asked the United States to assume 
her public debt. Both met with strenuous opposition from 
the North. 

353. The Compromise of 1850. At this time Clay once more 
acted as peacemaker. He proposed the series of resolutions 
which were finally passed and are known as the “ Compromise 
of 1850,” or the Omnibus Bill. Its chief provisions were: 

(a) that California be admitted as a free state; 

( b ) that New Mexico and Utah be organized as territories 

without provision as to slavery; 

(c) that Texas be paid ten million dollars to surrender her claim 

on New Mexico; 

(d) that the slave trade (not slavery) be abolished in the Dis¬ 

trict of Columbia. 

During a period of seven months the compromise measures 
formed the one great topic for debate in Congress and for dis¬ 
cussion in the press and by the people of the entire country. 
Clay, now a venerable man of seventy-three, physically weak, 
himself a slaveholder, made an earnest appeal for peace and 
compromise. For two days he swayed the audience which filled 
the Senate chamber to overflowing. 

John C. Calhoun, the great champion of states’ rights, was 
so feeble that his speech had to be read for him by a friend. 
Wrapped in a cloak, his long white hair hanging down the 
sides of his pale, emaciated face, the great leader of the South 
sat in his chair motionless, statue-like, and, with the hand of 
death upon him, listened to his own words of appeal and warn¬ 
ing to the North in behalf of his beloved South. He demanded 
an equal division of territory between the two sections, more 
effective laws for the return of fugitive slaves, and the com¬ 
plete and lasting cessation of slavery agitation. 

Webster expressed his sincere love for the Union, and de¬ 
nounced both the northern and the southern agitators. He 
placed the chief blame, however, on the anti-slavery men. He 


268 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


felt that the great duty of the hour was to save the Union, not 
to oppose slavery. The Union could be best preserved, he 
thought, by Clay’s compromise. Though Webster’s influence 
helped not only to secure the compromise, but also to postpone 
the awful war for a decade of years, he never again regained his 
former political prestige. (Read Whittier’s poem, “Ichabod.”) 

354. Taylor’s Death. The debate went on day after day. 
Separate provisions of Clay’s compromise were passed; but 



ZACHARY TAYLOR MILLARD FILLMORE 


while the question was still being considered, Taylor suddenly 
died, after having been in office only sixteen months. Vice- 
president Fillmore, an advocate of the compromise, who now 
became President, signed the last of the bills, the Fugitive Slave 
Law (September, 1850). 

355. California Becomes a State—The Pony Express. The 

“pony express,” which carried to California the news that she 
had been admitted to the Union as a free state (1850), established 
a means of communication between the East and the Pacific 






THE TAYLOR-FILLMORE ADMINISTRATION 


269 


coast. Stations some twenty miles apart were erected all the 
way from the Missouri River to the Sacramento, a distance of 
about two thousand miles. A messenger mounted on a fast 
pony set out across the plains to the first station, whence he took 
another horse and again sped away toward the next station. 
At every third station another rider took the mail. Eight 
days were required to traverse the distance, and frequently 
riders perished in the wintry blizzards or were killed by the 
Indians. The cost of sending a letter by the pony express was 
five dollars, which was soon reduced one-half. Some years 
later, stage coaches were used along similar routes. 

356. The Fugitive Slave Law. The last of the measures in¬ 
cluded in the Omnibus Bill having been adopted, a wave of 
relief swept over the country. The people, with Clay, hoped 
that harmony and good will would once more prevail, as after 
the Missouri Compromise. But these hopes were not to be 
realized; the Fugitive Slave Law stood in the way. This law 
gave United States officers the power to turn over any negro 
who was claimed as an escaped slave to the person claiming 
him, denied the negro the right of trial by jury, and demanded 
that citizens called upon by officers, should aid in securing the 
return of a fugitive slave. This law, which was very offensive 
to the North, met with resistance in many places. 

357. Personal Liberty Laws—Underground Railroad. The 
North determined not to return runaway slaves, but rather to 
protect and assist them to escape. Many of the northern states 
passed “ Personal Liberty Laws,” which really amounted to 
nullification of the fugitive law, since they did not permit the 
use of jails for the fugitives; forbade judges and officers to aid 
in the return of runaways; granted to slaves the right of trial 
by jury; and punished attempts to seize and return free negroes. 

Many slaves, by means of the so-called “ Underground Rail¬ 
road,” or secret routes, were helped to escape to Canada or 
some other place of safety in the North. One of the most 
famous routes of the Underground Railroad was from Cincin- 


270 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


nati to Detroit; another from Baltimore to New York, and thence 
to Canada or New England. 

358. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel writ¬ 
ten (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe, vividly pictured moral, 
social, and domestic life under slavery. The story at first came 
out week by week in an anti-slavery newspaper, but it was 
later published in book form. Within two years over three 
hundred thousand copies were sold. The book exerted a pow¬ 
erful anti-slavery influence, but it did not picture southern life 
truthfully. 

359. Death of Three Great Men. The nation was soon called 
upon to lament the death of three distinguished leaders. Cal¬ 
houn, the great champion of the South, died at Washington, 
D. C. (March 31, 1850); Clay, one of America’s foremost ora¬ 
tors and most disinterested patriots, died in the capital (June 
28, 1852); and Daniel Webster, the famous leader of the North, 
and the notable expounder of the Constitution, passed away at 
Marshfield, Massachusetts (October 24, 1852). 

360. Anti-Catholic Attacks—Know-Nothingism. The Nativ- 
ists and other anti-Catholic elements (1852) joined forces with 
the fugitive German and Italian Revolutionists (1848-1849), 
and led by the ex-Carmelite Gavazzi, inaugurated a crusade 
of unparalleled anti-Catholic hatred and strife. When the 
Papal Nuncio, Monsignore Bedini, landed in New York (1852), 
Gavazzi traveled through the country, and everywhere set on 
foot a movement against him. He made charges which no 
rational man could believe, and which were soon proved to 
be false. 

As a result of these calumnies, the Nuncio, in his progress 
through the country, was insulted, abused, burned in effigy, 
mobbed, and even threatened with assassination. In many 
places in New England, the anti-Catholic faction, headed by 
a Boston street preacher, who styled himself the Angel Gabriel, 
ruthlessly destroyed Catholic churches and expelled peaceful 
Catholic settlers from their homes. 


THE TAYL0R-F1LLM0RE ADMINISTRATION 


271 


During this excitement (1852) a network of secret societies 
sprang up, called the ‘‘Order of the Star-Spangled Banner.” 
It started in New York, and because of its extreme secrecy, 
its members were called Know-Nothings. The order advocated 
chiefly: that the time of residence required for naturalization 
be twenty-one years, and that Catholics be placed under political 
disabilities. The Know-Nothings destroyed many churches, 
convents, and private houses of Catholics, and shed much Catho¬ 
lic blood. They increased so rapidly that they elected the 
governors and legislatures of a number of the states. In a few 
years, however, they became almost extinct, save in Maryland, 
where they continued to exist for a time. 

The methods of the Know-Nothing party were revived in 
1894 by the American Protective Association. This was a 
secret society in the United States, not unlike the Know-Noth¬ 
ings, which became a disturbing factor in most of the northern 
states during the period of 1891-1897. Its purpose was indicated 
clearly enough by its open activity in arranging lectures by 
“ex-priests,” distributing anti-Catholic literature, and opposing 
the election of Catholics to office. Unlike the Know-Nothings, 
it never constituted a separate political party, but sought to 
influence existing parties toward selecting candidates friendly 
to its anti-Catholic views. 

361. The First Plenary Council. The First Plenary Council 
of the Church in the United States, which was assembled in 
Baltimore by Archbishop Kendrick (1852), was composed of 
six Archbishops and twenty-six Bishops. It proposed the erec¬ 
tion of several new dioceses, urged the importance of Catholic 
schools, and condemned secret societies, especially the Free¬ 
masons. 


Questions 

1. What were the important provisions of the Compromise of 1850? Who 
proposed it? What was Webster’s stand? Which parts favored the North? 
Which the South? Which provision was most objectionable to the North? 


272 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Why? How did the northern states combat it? Why did Uncle Tom's 
Cabin arouse the country more than all the speeches made in Congress? 

2. In which occupation could slaves be more successfully used, cotton¬ 
growing or gold mining? Would this affect California’s attitude toward 
slavery? 

3. What were some of the important proposals of the First Plenary Council? 

Theme Topics 

1. A Slave Escapes by the Underground Railway. 

2. Imagine that an important letter must be delivered in California in 
1851. In a short theme describe the ride of the messenger on the Pony 
Express. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


FRANKLIN PIERCE’S ADMINISTRATION 

DEMOCRAT—1853-1857 

362. Pierce Elected. Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), the four¬ 
teenth President, had previously served as Representative and 
as Senator. He had also been a brigadier-general in the Mexican 
War. In his inaugural address he promised to do all he could to 
carry out the provisions of the Compromise of 1850 and to keep 
peace on the slavery question. 

Yet, scarcely twelve months of 
his presidency had elapsed when 
the country was thrown into a 
most exciting slavery agitation. 

363. The Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill. Senator Stephen A. Doug¬ 
las introduced the Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill, which proposed 
the formation of the two terri¬ 
tories of Kansas and Nebraska 
on the principle of “squatter 
sovereignty/’ that is, the settlers 
were to decide for themselves 
whether or not they would have 
slavery. Douglas’s measure re¬ 
pealed the Missouri Compro¬ 
mise, but after violent debates, 
it became law (1854) by a close vote in both houses and the 
signature of the President. 

364. The Race to Kansas for Supremacy. No sooner was 
the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed than a race for political suprem- 

273 



FRANKLIN PIERCE 







274 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


acy in Kansas was begun by both the pro-slavery and 
anti-slavery men. Before the year closed each party had planted 
several settlements in Kansas. The pro-slavery men settled 
at Atchison and other points along the Missouri River, while 
the free-state men settled at Lawrence and other places south 
of the Kansas River. The excitement became intense. Each 
party was determined to win in the first election for a territorial 
legislature (1855). The pro-slavery men carried the election 



DISPERSING A KANSAS CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 


by means of fraud and violence, promptly adopted the Consti¬ 
tution of Missouri, which provided for slavery, and added to 
it laws by which any interference with slavery was to be severely 
punished. The free-state settlers, refusing to obey a govern¬ 
ment which had been established through fraud, met at Topeka 
and drew up a constitution of their own. This constitution 
forbade slavery. 

Thus Kansas had two rival, hostile governments, each de¬ 
manding recognition by Congress and the President, It was 






FRANKLIN PIERCE’S ADMINISTRATION 


275 


clear that “squatter sovereignty” could not solve peaceably 
the slavery question in the territories. The House of Repre¬ 
sentatives accepted the Topeka, or anti-slavery constitution, 
and voted to admit Kansas as a free state. The Senate, however, 
did not concur in this action. The conflict in Kansas developed 
into virtual civil war, during which the two parties committed so 
many crimes of violence and bloodshed that the territory became 
known as “Bleeding Kansas.” 

365. The Gadsden Purchase. Owing to the inaccuracy of the 
maps, trouble arose with Mexico in regard to the boundary 
line. General James Gadsden, our minister to Mexico, at length 
adjusted matters by negotiating a treaty (1853), by which the 
United States paid Mexico ten million dollars for the land 
lying directly south of the Gila River. This territory, which 
comprises about forty-seven thousand square miles, has since 
been known as the Gadsden Purchase. 

366. Perry’s Treaty with Japan. In 1853 Commodore Mat¬ 
thew C. Perry, brother of the hero of Lake Erie, visited Japan, 
which till then had not admitted foreigners even for the pur¬ 
pose of trade. After a year’s waiting, Perry succeeded in 
making a treaty (1854), by which certain Japanese ports were 
opened for trade with the United States. As a result of Perry’s 
expedition, Japan, within seven years, made treaties with nearly 
all the countries of Europe. This was the beginning of the 
wonderful development which has marked that nation for the 
past fifty or sixty years. 

367. First World’s Fair in the United States. For the first 
time in our history, the nations of the world joined the United 
States (1853) in a great exposition of products in the Crystal 
Palace, New York. The Crystal Palace, built exclusively of 
iron and glass, was visited by thousands from all parts of the 
world. The exposition tended to show that the United States 
might soon expect to lead the rest of the world in practical 
inventions and the manufacture of labor-saving machinery—an 
expectation that has since proved well-founded. 


276 


HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Questions 

1. How did the Kansas-Nebraska Bill repeal the Missouri Compromise? 
What was the attitude of Congress toward the two rival state governments 
in Kansas? What followed? 

2. What was the Gadsden Purchase? 

3. What was the result of Perry’s treaty with Japan? 

4. When and where in the United States was the first World’s Fair held? 

Theme Topic 

Imagine that you were to attend a World’s Fair this year. Write a short 
theme describing the wonderful things you would expect to see. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


JAMES BUCHANAN’S ADMINISTRATION 

DEMOCRAT—1857-1861 

368. Buchanan and Breckinridge Are Elected. At the elec¬ 
tion of 1856, James Buchanan (1791-1868), the Democratic 
nominee, was elected as the fifteenth President. John C. 
Breckinridge of Kentucky was chosen Vice-president. 

Buchanan was a native of Pennsylvania. In public life he 
had served as United States Senator and as minister to Russia 
and to England. He declared in 
his inaugural address that the 
object of his administration 
would be to destroy sectional 
strife and settle the slavery 
question. However, the Dred 
Scott Decision, rendered by the 
Supreme Court only two days 
after his inauguration, widened 
the alarming breach between the 
anti-slavery and pro-slavery sec¬ 
tions of the Union. 

369. The Dred Scott Deci¬ 
sion. A slave named Dred Scott 
had lived for some time with his 
master, an army surgeon, in the 
free state of Illinois and in the 
free territory of Minnesota. On 
returning to Missouri, Scott sued his owner for his freedom, 
on the ground that his residence on free soil had made him a 

277 



JAMES BUCHANAN 




278 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


free man. The case was finally tried in the Supreme Court of 
the United States, which rendered the “Dred Scott Decision.” 
This declared that a slave was not a person, but property, and 
Congress had no more right to exclude this kind of property 
from the territories than it had to exclude horses, cows, and other 



A LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE 


chattels. Therefore, slave-owners might take their slaves with 
them into any territory of the Union without forfeiting authority 
over them. 

The Dred Scott Decision created intense excitement through¬ 
out the country. The slaveholders of the South had on their 














































































james Buchanan’s administration 


279 


side the Supreme Court. The people of the North denounced 
the Supreme Court, rejected its decision, and determined to 
check the spread of slavery in the territories. 

370. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. The election of a suc¬ 
cessor to Senator Douglas of Illinois brought to the front 
Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the senatorship 
against Douglas, who was the Democratic choice. Lincoln 
challenged (1857) Douglas to a series of joint debates on the 
subjects of squatter sovereignty, the Dred Scott Decision, and 
the extension of slavery into the territories. Both candidates 
exercised a powerful influence upon the vast audiences which 
gathered from far and near to hear the great problems of the 
day discussed by the ablest speakers of Illinois. Although 
Douglas was reelected senator, Lincoln’s great speeches gave 
him a national reputation and made him a candidate for the 
presidency (1860). 

371. The Panic of 1857. Shortly after Buchanan’s inaugura¬ 
tion a great business depression occurred. The discovery of 
gold in California had increased wealth and stimulated in¬ 
vestments in railroads and in manufacturing enterprises. These 
investments, undertaken on too large a scale, resulted in a panic 
similar to that which the country had passed through twenty 
years before. Great suffering continued for two years, but 
later discoveries of gold in California, silver in Nevada, and oil 
in Pennsylvania, again revived business and restored prosperity. 

Three free states were admitted during Buchanan’s admin¬ 
istration. Minnesota came in as the thirty-second (1858), 
Oregon as the thirty-third (1859), and Kansas as the thirty- 
fourth (1861). 

372. John Brown’s Raid. John Brown, an Abolition extrem¬ 
ist, with about twenty men (1859) suddenly seized the United 
States arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in Virginia, with the avowed 
purpose of causing an insurrection of the slaves and supplying 
them with arms from the arsenal. His plan, however, met with 
complete failure. He was captured, brought to a speedy trial, 
and hanged. Brown’s raid increased the misunderstanding 



SEsHARRERS/r?? 

pOTOMac-R-R-^ 


htoon. 


:BflLTIMORE-8. OHIO. R.R 
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POTOMAC RIVER 


river 


280 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

between the two sections. The South believed that among the 
northern Republicans there was on foot a general plan to create 
a slave insurrection, and began to think of secession and inde¬ 
pendence. The northern people, for the most part, condemned 
Brown’s course, although they were in sympathy with his opposi¬ 
tion to slavery. 


373. The Campaign of 1860. In the presidential campaign 
of 1860, the principal issue was again the extension of slavery 
into the territories. The Republicans nominated Abraham 
Lincoln of Illinois, on a platform demanding the repudiation 
of the Dred Scott Decision and the immediate admission of 
Kansas as a free state. The southern Democrats named John 
C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, on a platform demanding that 
Congress should protect slavery in the territories. The northern 
Democrats chose Stephen A. Douglas, and advocated “squatter 


HARPER ’S FERRY AND VICINITY 














james buchanan’s administration 


281 


sovereignty.” The remnant of old Whigs, along with other con¬ 
servatives, nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, on a platform of 
“The Constitution, the Union, and the Enforcement of the 
Laws.” Abraham Lincoln was elected. Hannibal Hamlin was 
elected Vice-president. 

374. South Carolina Secedes. When the election of Lincoln 
was made known, South Carolina (December, 1860) passed an 
ordinance of secession and publicly announced the fact to the 
world. The state based its right of secession on the old principle 
of states’ rights, as expressed by the Kentucky and Virginia 
Resolutions, the Hartford Convention, and the Nullification 
Ordinance of South Carolina. Secession and war were not, 
however, brought about so much by the states’ rights question 
as by anti-slavery agitations, which led to the Kansas-Nebraska 
troubles, to the Dred Scott Decision, to John Brown’s raid, and 
to the election of Lincoln as President. 

375. The Formation of the Southern Confederacy. Other 
slave states followed the lead of South Carolina, and within six 
weeks (February, 1861), Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, 
Louisiana, and Texas had seceded from the Union. These seven 
states, which included the great cotton belt of the South, at once 
sent delegates to a convention at Montgomery, Alabama, (Feb¬ 
ruary, 1861) and established a provisional government, which 
they styled “The Confederate States of America.” Jefferson 
Davis of Mississippi was chosen President. Later in the year 
four other states—Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and 
Arkansas—joined the Confederacy. The border states, Mary¬ 
land, Kentucky, Missouri, and Delaware remained loyal to the 
Union. The western counties of Virginia declared for the 
Union, and upon their request for admission, were added to 
the Union as a state (1863) under the name of West Virginia. 
The authorities of the seceding states seized nineteen forts and 
seven arsenals, situated within their borders, together with a 
vast amount of arms and ammunition belonging to the United 
States government. 


282 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


376. The Government and Secession. The government 

offered no resistance to the secessionists or to their seizure of 
its property, except a weak attempt to reenforce Major Ander¬ 
son at Fort Sumter. For this purpose the merchantman, 
Star of the West , was dispatched (January, 1861) to Charleston 
Harbor. The vessel was fired upon by Charleston gunners 
at Fort Moultrie, and was forced to return. 

Buchanan, still irresolute, adopted no decided plan of action. 
While he declared that he did not believe in the constitutional 
rights of secession, he also declared that he did not believe the 
national government had the right to use coercion. Neither 
the North nor the South wanted war. The former demanded 
that the seceded states should come back into the Union. Con¬ 
gress made strenuous efforts to compromise the disputed 
slavery question; a peace conference was held in Washington 
and amendments to the Constitution were proposed—but these 
efforts proved futile. 

Questions 

1. Review the following topics before discussing the Dred Scott Decision: 
the provision concerning slavery in the Ordinance of 1787, the Mason and 
Dixon’s Line, the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill. 

2. What did the Supreme Court decide about fugitive slaves? Why was 
the South satisfied with the decision? What effect would the decision have 
upon slave holding in free states and territories? In what light did the 
South regard John Brown’s raid? 

3. What were the important planks in the political parties of 1860? What 
was the result of the election? Find on the map the states which seceded. 

4. What attitude did the President take toward secession? 

5. Be able to list chronologically the presidents from Washington to Lincoln 
and to give the principal events in each administration. 

Theme Topics 

1. John Brown’s Raid. 

2. Abraham Lincoln before 1861. 

a. Lincoln’s birthplace. 

b. Lincoln, the boy. 

c. Lincoln starts out for himself. 

d. Lincoln, the lawyer. 

e. Lincoln, the politician. 



















































. 


_ -. 






















































































































































- 



































CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


1789—1861 

George Washington’s Administration (1789-1797). 

1789. George Washington is inaugurated as the first Presi¬ 
dent (April 30). 

Rev. John Carroll is consecrated first Bishop of the 
United States (November). 

1791. Vermont is admitted as a free state. 

1792. Kentucky is admitted as a slave state. 

Captain Gray discovers and names the Columbia River. 

1793. Eli Whitney invents the cotton-gin. 

The first Fugitive State Law is enacted. 

Rev. Stephen Badin is ordained first priest in the 
United States. 

1794. The Whiskey Insurrection occurs in western Penn¬ 
sylvania. 

General Anthony Wayne defeats the Ohio Indians. 

1795. John Jay concludes a treaty with Great Britain for 
the surrender of the northwestern forts, payment of 
American claims, etc. 

A treaty is made with Spain for a “Place of deposit.” 

1796. Tennessee is admitted as a slave state. 

John Adams’s Administration (1797-1801)—Federalist. 

• 1797. John Adams is inaugurated as the second President. 

1798. The Alien and Sedition Laws are enacted. 

1799. Washington dies at Mount Vernon (December 14). 

1800. The national capital is removed to Washington. 
Spain cedes Louisiana territory to France. 

283 


284 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Thomas Jefferson’s Administration (1801-1809)—Democratic- 
Republican. 

1801. Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third President. 
The war with Tripoli begins. 

1803. Ohio is admitted as a free state. 

Louisiana territory is purchased from France for 
fifteen million dollars. 

1804. Hamilton is killed by Burr (July 11). 

1805. Lewis and Clark make an expedition to the Northwest. 
A treaty of peace is made with Tripoli. 

1807. Great Britain publishes the Orders in Council; Napo¬ 
leon issues his “Decrees” (1806-1807). 

Congress passes the Embargo Act. 

Robert Fulton invents the first successful steamboat. 
The British frigate Leopard attacks the American 
frigate Chesapeake. 

1808. African slave trade is abolished. 

James Madison’s Administration (1809-1817)—Democratic-Re¬ 
publican. 

1809. James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth President. 
The Non-Intercourse Act is passed. 

1811. General William H. Harrison defeats the Indians 
under Tecumseh at Tippecanoe. 

The American ship President wins a naval victory 
over the British Little Belt. 

Astor establishes a trading post at Astoria. 

1812. Louisiana is admitted as a slave state. 

War is declared against England (June 18). 

Hull surrenders Detroit to the British (August 8). 

The Essex captures British sloop Alert (August 13). 
The Constitution captures the Guerriere (August 19). 
The United States sloop Wasp captures the British 
brig Frolic (October). 

Unsuccessful attempts are made to invade Canada. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


285 


1813. The United States ship Hornet captures the British 
sloop Peacock. 

The United States frigate Chesapeake is captured by 
the British frigate Shannon. 

Unsuccessful attempts are again made to invade 
Canada. 

Perry defeats the British on Lake Erie (September 10). 
American privateers injure British commerce. 

The British are defeated in the Battle of the Thames 
(October 5). 

1814. Jackson defeats the Indians at Horseshoe Bend 
(March 27). 

General Brown defeats the British at Chippewa (July 5). 
Brown defeats the British at Lundy’s Lane (July 25). 
The British capture the capital and burn government 
buildings (August 24). 

The Hartford Convention assembles (December 15). 
The treaty of peace is signed at Ghent, Belgium 
(December 24). 

1815. Jackson defends New Orleans (January 8). 

Decatur brings the Barbary States to terms. 
Archbishop Carroll dies. 

1816. Indiana is admitted as a free state. 

The first protective tariff is passed. 

The Second Bank is chartered. 

James Monroe’s Administration (1817-1825)—Democratic-Re¬ 
publican. 

1817. James Monroe is inaugurated as the fifth President. 
Mississippi is admitted as a slave state. 

William Cullen Bryant begins his work as poet and 
editor. (See page 468.) 

The Erie* Canal, extending from Albany to Buffalo, 
is begun. 

Jackson subdues the Seminoles in Florida. 


286 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


1818. 

1819. 


1820. 

1821. 

1823. 

1824. 


John Q. 

1825. 

1826. 

1827. 

1828. 


Illinois is admitted as a free state. 

Florida is purchased from Spain for five million 
dollars. 

Alabama is admitted as a slave state. 

The first steamboat, The Savannah, crosses the Atlantic. 
Washington Irving begins his work as historian, 
novelist, and descriptive writer. (See page 468.) 

The Missouri Compromise is passed. 

Maine is admitted as a free state. 

James Fenimore Cooper begins his work as novelist. 
(See page 468.) 

Missouri is admitted as a slave state. 

Mexico declares her independence of Spain. 

President Monroe declares the Monroe Doctrine. 
Lafayette visits America. 

Western Indian Missions are renewed. 

A new Protective Tariff Bill is passed. 

Adams’s Administration (1825-1829) — National-Re¬ 
publican. 

John Q. Adams is inaugurated as the sixth President. 
The Erie Canal is opened. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne begins his work as writer of 
romance. (See page 470.) 

The first passenger railroad, extending from Baltimore 
to Ellicott’s Mills, is in construction. 

Edgar A. Poe begins his work as poet and story-teller. 
(See page 470.) 

The Tariff of Abominations is passed by Congress. 


Andrew Jackson’s Administration (1829-1837)—Democratic. 

1829. Andrew Jackson is inaugurated as the seventh Presi¬ 
dent. 

First Provincial Council is held in Baltimore. 

The Spoils System is introduced. 

1830. Joseph Smith founds the sect of Mormons. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


287 


Holmes and Longfellow begin their work as poets and 
prose writers. (See pages 469 and 470.) 

Webster >and Hayne hold their famous debate in 
Congress. 

1831. William Lloyd Garrison begins the Abolitionist agita¬ 
tion by the publication of the “ Liberator.” 

1832. Congress passes a new tariff act. 

South Carolina passes the Nullification Ordinance. 
Jackson is reelected. 

1833. Clay’s Tariff Compromise is passed. 

Jackson removes the public funds from the National 
Bank. 

1835. George Bancroft begins his work as American his¬ 
torian. (See page 472.) 

Ralph Waldo Emerson begins his work as a writer. 
(See page 469.) 

1836. General Houston defeats Santa Anna at San Jacinto. 
Texas declares her independence. 

Arkansas is admitted as a slave state. 

1837. Michigan is admitted as a free state. 

The United States acknowledges Texan independence. 

Martin Van Buren’s Presidency (1837-1841)—Democratic. 

Martin Van Buren is inaugurated as the eighth 
President. 

A great business panic takes place. 

1838. Catholic missions are established in Oregon. 

1840. Congress passes the Sub-treasury Bill. 

Harrison-Tyler Administrations (1841-1845)—Whigs. 

1841. William H. Harrison is inaugurated as the ninth 
President. 

Father De Smet establishes a mission among the 
Flathead Indians. 

Harrison dies (April 4). 


288 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Tyler assumes office as the tenth President. 

Congress repeals the Sub-treasury Bill. 

1842. Dorr’s Rebellion occurs in Rhode Island. 

The northeastern boundary of the United States is 
fixed by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with England. 
James Russell Lowell begins his work as poet and 
essayist. (See page 470.) 

1844. Samuel F. B. Morse erects the first successful electric 
telegraph line in the world from Baltimore to Washing¬ 
ton. 

Native American riots occur in Philadelphia. 

The Mormons set out for Utah; Smith is killed. 

1845. Florida is admitted as a slave state. 

Texas is admitted as a slave state. 

James K. Polk’s Administration (1845-1849)—Democratic. 

James K. Polk is inaugurated as the eleventh President. 

1846. War with Mexico is declared. 

Elias Howe invents the sewing machine. (See p. 454.) 
Iowa is admitted as a free state. 

Fremont conquers California. 

Kearny conquers New Mexico. 

Taylor enters Mexico. 

By treaty with England the Oregon boundary is fixed 
at 49°. 

Mary Immaculate is chosen the patroness of the 
Catholic Church in the United States. 

1847. Scott takes the City of Mexico. 

1848. A treaty of peace is made with Mexico at Guadalupe 
Hidalgo. 

Gold is discovered in California. 

Wisconsin is admitted as a free state. 

Taylor-Fillmore Administrations (1849-1853)—Whigs. 

1849. Zachary Taylor is inaugurated as the twelfth Presi¬ 
dent. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


289 


A struggle for the admission of California takes place. 
Francis Parkman begins his work as American his¬ 
torian. (See page 472.) 

1850. President Taylor dies (July 9). 

Millard Fillmore assumes office as the thirteenth 
President. 

California is admitted as a free state. 

John C. Calhoun dies (March 31). 

'Personal Liberty Laws are passed. 

The Underground Railway is organized. 

. 1852. The First Plenary Council meets at Baltimore. 

Henry Clay dies (June 28). 

Daniel Webster dies (October 24). 

Uncle Tom's Cabin is published. 

Franklin Pierce’s Administration (1853-1857)—Democratic. 

1853. Franklin Pierce is inaugurated as the fourteenth 
President. 

The Gadsden Purchase is made. 

A World’s Fair is held at New York. 

The Know-Nothing party is organized. 

1854. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill is passed. 

The Civil War in Kansas begins. 

Commodore Matthew C. Perry negotiates a treaty of 
trade with Japan. 

James Buchanan’s Administration (1857-1861)—Democratic. 

1857. James Buchanan is inaugurated as the fifteenth 
President. 

The Dred Scott Decision is rendered by the Supreme 
Court. 

A great business panic occurs. 

1858. The Lincoln-Douglas debates take place. 

Minnesota is admitted as a free state. 

A civil war in Kansas ends in the framing of the 
constitution forbidding slavery. 


290 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


1859. John Brown’s Raid excites the country. 

Oregon is admitted as a free state. 

1860. South Carolina passes an ordinance of secession. 

The Democratic party is split into a northern and a 
southern division. 

1861. The Southern Confederacy is formed, and Jefferson 
Davis is chosen President. 

Kansas is admitted as a free state. 


PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 

CHAPTER XXX 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION 

REPUBLICAN—1861-1865 

THE WAR TO THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (1861-1863) 

377. Lincoln’s Inauguration. Rumors of a plot to assassinate 
Lincoln induced him, on the advice of his friends, to make a 
quick and secret night journey through Baltimore to the Federal 
capital, where he was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, without 
any disturbance. Perhaps never before and never since was a 
President’s inaugural address so eagerly looked forward to as 
was that of Abraham Lincoln. 

In simple words he declared that his aim was to preserve 
the Union, which should be perpetual and from which no state 
could lawfully withdraw; that he had no intention of inter¬ 
fering with slavery in the states where it existed; and that he 
would faithfully execute the laws of the Union in all the states, 
and hold, occupy, and possess all property and places belonging 
to the government. His address found great favor in the North, ♦ 
since it made the saving of the Union, instead of the opposition 
to slavery, the great issue. 

378. Comparative Strength and Resources of the Opposing 
Sections. The twenty-three Union states had a population of 
about twenty-two million, of which half a million were slaves, 
while the eleven Confederate states had a population of about 
nine million, three and one-half million of whom were slaves. 
The slaves carried no arms, but they could furnish the armies 
with supplies, and work in the camp. 

291 


292 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 





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ABRAHAM LINCOLN 








ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION 


293 


Because of her industrial system, the North had more wealth 
and a greater number of able business men than the South, 
where the money and business enterprises were chiefly in the 
hands of a comparatively small number of planters. 

The North controlled the navy, had dockyards, and pos¬ 
sessed the financial means for building and repairing warships, 
with which it could shut up southern ports against aid from 
abroad; while the South, having put nearly all her energies 
into the cultivation of rice, cotton, sugar, and tobacco, had 
few sailors and no navy, and possessed but small means of 
building ships. 

In factories, which supplied the soldiers with everything from 
blankets to cannon, as also in resources for food supplies, the 
North greatly surpassed the South, which was almost entirely 
dependent upon the North and European countries for its 
necessities of life. 

The South had a number of the best-known officers of the 
regular army, including a group of talented West Point graduates. 
The southern people, as a rule, showed special aptitude for mili¬ 
tary pursuits, owing to their outdoor agricultural life, constant 
use of firearms, and skill in horsemanship. The North, on the 
other hand, was a land of business men, and was at first far in¬ 
ferior to the South in respect to a population prepared for mili¬ 
tary service. 

While neither side had really expected war, the South had seen 
its likelihood sooner. She had another great advantage—she 
could fight on her own soil near the sources of supplies. Her 
soldiers were thoroughly familiar with every stream, hill, road, 
and wood. 

On the whole, the North' and South were at first more evenly 
matched than is usually supposed. As to courage, ability, self- 
sacrifice, and loyalty to cause, the two sections were equal. The 
reason for the failure of the one and the success of the other may be 
found in the superior number of soldiers, in the greater resources, 
and in the industrial capacity of the North. 


294 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


The backwardness of the South in wealth and population must 
be attributed to slavery. The prosperity of the North was 
grounded on free and intelligent labor. The farmer and the 
working man labored with energy because the fruits of their 
efforts were their own. 

The rich man of the South did not need to work, and could 
devote his time to politics, literature, and social enjoyment. 
The slaves, laboring under compulsion and having nothing to 
gain by industry, worked slowly, carelessly, and stupidly. The 
poor among the whites, who to a great extent had grown up in 
the belief that work was a disgrace and a sign of slavery, had 
become a shiftless and unthrifty portion of every community 
in the South. 

379. Causes of the Civil War. Diverging interpretations of 
the Constitution, different systems of labor in the North and 
the South, lack of intercourse between the two sections, and the 
increase of territory, led to the three great remote causes of 
the Civil War: 

(а) slavery; 

(б) the doctrine of states’ rights* 

(c) the tariff question. 

The immediate causes of the Civil War were: 

(а) the election of Lincoln ; 

(б) the secession of the southern states; 

(c) the attack on Fort Sumter. 

FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR—1861 

380. The Capture of Fort Sumter by the South. On the 

morning following his inauguration, Lincoln received word 
from Robert Anderson, who was in command of Fort Sumter, 
that without reenforcements he could not hold the fort much 
longer. The Confederate forces, commanded by Beauregard, 
bombarded the garrison. Anderson, after a brave stand of 
thirty-four hours, made an honorable surrender (April 14, 1861) 



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ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION 


295 


and embarked for New York, carrying with him the tattered 
flag under which he and his men had fought. 

The news of the capture of Fort Sumter electrified the whole 
country and served to consolidate the North and the South 
against each other. Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and 
Tennessee now speedily joined the Confederacy. The “Star 
Spangled Banner” was flung to the breeze everywhere in the 
North, while the Confederacy displayed its new standard, the 
Stars and Bars. 

On the day following the evac¬ 
uation of Fort Sumter, President 
Lincoln called for seventy-five 
thousand volunteers to serve for 
three months. Four times that 
number offered their services. 

The Sixth Massachusetts volun¬ 
teer regiment began its march to 
the capital the same day. While 
passing through Baltimore (April 
19) it was attacked by a mob 
which killed several soldiers. This was the first bloodshed of 
the war. The incident occurred on the eighty-sixth anniversary 
of the skirmish at Lexington. 

381. Financial Measures of Congress. After Lincoln’s first 
call for volunteers, Congress met in extra session and authorized 
the President to call for additional volunteers, and to increase 
the navy and regular army. It also greatly raised the tariff 
(1861) and levied heavy internal taxes for the support of the 
war; adopted a Homestead Bill, which offered portions of public 
domains to heads of families, on condition of their living upon it 
and cultivating it for five years; and voted the construction of 
the Union Pacific Railroad, for which purpose money and large 
tracts of land were granted by the Federal government. At 
the suggestion of Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, 
Congress voted that money be borrowed and that the govern- 




296 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ment issue paper money or “greenbacks.” Gold was soon at a 
premium and “greenbacks” so decreased in value that in 1864 
a dollar note was worth only thirty-five cents in gold. 

382. Organization of the Contending Armies. Lincoln, early 
in May, made a second call for forty-two thousand volunteers 
to serve for three years, and for forty thousand men for the 
regular army and navy. Thus the strength of the Union force 



^GEORGETOWN 


.WASHINGTON 


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POTOMAC 




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WASHINGTON AND VICINITY 

was raised to one hundred eighty-three thousand men. This 
army was placed under the command of General Winfield Scott 
and distributed on a line of two thousand miles, passing along 
the Potomac, across northern Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and 
Indian Territory, to New Mexico. Washington was the forti¬ 
fied center. 

President Davis of the Confederacy also called for volunteers, 
and his call was obeyed as eagerly as President Lincoln’s. 
The Confederate army, which numbered about one hundred 
fifty thousand, was under the direction of General Beauregard. 











ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION 


297 


With Richmond as its fortified center it held the country south 
of the Potomac, together with all the strong fortifications along 
the Mississippi and the Mexican border. 

Each army had the primary object of protecting its own 
capital. Hence each section immediately sought to make its 
capital secure. The Union army in addition had the necessary 
object of capturing Richmond. 

383. Counteracting Proclamations. To counteract Lincoln’s 
call for volunteers, Davis issued (April 17) a proclamation 
offering to all ship-owners who 
would prey upon northern com¬ 
merce letters of marque and re¬ 
prisal, which were commissions 
for privateering. 

President Lincoln responded 
(April 19) by a proclamation de¬ 
claring the ports of the Confed¬ 
eracy to be in a state of blockade. 

Union vessels were stationed out¬ 
side the harbor of all southern 
ports to prevent foreign com¬ 
merce. This proclamation and 
act constituted a declaration of 
war. 

The blockade of the ports in the 
South was rendered so complete 
within the course of a year that, with the exception of an 
occasional “blockade-runner,” no vessel could enter or leave 
a southern port. The main source of income to the South— 
the sale of cotton—being thus cut off, the procuring of ammuni¬ 
tion and arms was rendered very difficult. Great masses of 
cotton, piled up along the seacoast, sold for four cents a pound, 
although the manufacturers in England would have paid two 
dollars fifty cents per pound for it. A ton of salt, which could 











298 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


be purchased for seven dollars in the West Indies, sold for fifteen 
hundred dollars in Richmond. 

The South, however, was able to obtain blockade-runners 
which were constructed chiefly in England. These vessels, of 
light draught, could easily move through channels too shallow 
for their pursuers. To make them less conspicuous, they were 
painted a dull gray. With these vessels the southerners could, 
under cover of night, steal in and out of their ports, carrying 
away cotton and bringing back military stores and other sup¬ 
plies. 

384. Foreign Attitude. The Union and the Confederacy each 
counted on sympathy from Europe. The Union founded her 
hopes on the fact that England, having led the way in abolish¬ 
ing slavery, would now support her cause. She was disap¬ 
pointed, however, for England and France recognized the Con¬ 
federacy as a belligerent power, entitled to all the rights of war, 
though they did not acknowledge her as a nation. The Con¬ 
federacy from the first hoped and expected foreign recognition 
and assistance. Southerners, knowing that there were hundreds 
of factories in England and France which depended upon cotton 
from the South, believed that, rather than suffer injury to their 
cotton industry, these nations would recognize the independence 
of the Confederacy, and lend money to it. But English me¬ 
chanics and factory hands were willing to suffer rather than to 
aid slavery. The relations of the Union with Germany and 
Russia during the war were more friendty; both nations displayed 
sympathy with her cause. 

385. The Battle of Bull Run. When, early in July, General 

George B. McClellan had driven the Confederate forces out of 
West Virginia, the people of the North began to demand that 
the army move forward and capture Richmond. Influenced by 
public opinion, General Scott ordered an advance to be made 
under General McDowell. McDowell, with about thirty thou¬ 
sand men, marched from Washington toward Richmond. He 
met the Confederate forces, twenty thousand strong, under 


ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION 


299 


General Beauregard, at the village of Manassas Junction, near 
a small branch of the Potomac in Virginia, known as Bull Run. 
At first, success favored the Union troops; in the afternoon, 
however, the Union army, composed chiefly of raw recruits, 
was thrown into a panic and fled in great disorder toward 
Washington. The Confederate army had suffered too severely 
to follow up its advantage. While the Union troops were fiercely 
charging, the Confederate brigade under General Thomas J. 
Jackson was still firmly hold¬ 
ing its ground. Seeing this, 
the Confederate general, Bee, 
rallying his men, cried, “Look 
at Jackson’s brigade; they 
stand like a stone wall!” Thus 
originated the title “Stone¬ 
wall” Jackson, by which the 
brave general was ever after 
known. 

Many persons in the South, 
overjoyed at the success of the 
battle, thought that the war was practically decided. But the 
North, though greatly humbled, was more benefited by her 
failure than the South by her success. The North learned two 
lessons: that the war was certain to last longer than three 
months, and that an undisciplined army is scarcely better than 
a mob. 

General McClellan was now called from West Virginia to 
take command of the Union army. During nine months of 
drill and discipline he changed the raw volunteers into the 
magnificent Army of the Potomac, about one hundred fifty 
thousand strong. The Confederates also were strengthening 
their lines and drilling their men. 

386. The Trent Affair. In the autumn of 1861, President 
Davis sent two commissioners, Mason and Slidell, to Europe 
to urge the Confederate cause. Running the blockade at 














300 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Charleston, they embarked at Havana on the English steamer 
Trent. Captain Wilkes, of the United States sloop of war San 
Jacinto , overhauled the Trent and took from it by force the two 
commissioners. England, considering this action an insult to 
her flag, made a sharp demand for the release of the prisoners 
and sent troops to Canada. The United States government 
immediately disavowed the act of Captain Wilkes and placed 
the commissioners on a British ship, in which they were con¬ 
veyed to their destination. Thus war with England was averted. 

It was just before the “Trent affair” that President Lincoln 
sent Archbishop Hughes and Thurlow Weed to France and 
England to help the cause of the Union and to avert the danger 
of foreign war. The spirit in which the great Archbishop per¬ 
formed his mission is well expressed in his own words: “I made 
known to the President that if I should come to Europe it 
would not be as a partisan of the North more than of the South; 
that I should represent the interests of the South as well as 
the North; in short, the interests of the United States, just the 
same as if they had never been distracted by the present Civil 
War.” 


SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR—1862 

387. Lincoln’s Strategic Plans. Lincoln at the very begin¬ 
ning of the war stated that four things were essential to success: 

(1) the defense of Washington and the capture of Richmond; 

(2) the prevention of the border states from seceding; (3) the 
opening of the Mississippi River; and (4) an effective blockade 
of the southern ports for the purpose of preventing European 
supplies from reaching the South. 

During the first year of the war, Washington was well fortified, 
the neutral border states were prevented from seceding, and 
the southern ports were fairly well blockaded. Consequently 
there remained to be accomplished the opening of the Mississippi 
River, the more thorough blockade of the southern ports, and 
the capture of Richmond. 


ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION 301 

THE CAMPAIGN IN THE WEST 

388. Confederate Line of Defense. The Confederate line of 
defense extended from Columbus, on .the Mississippi, through 
Kentucky to Cumberland Gap, in the Alleghany Mountains. 
General Albert Sydney Johnston, commander of all the Con¬ 
federate forces in the West, with about fifteen thousand men, 
had his headquarters at Bowling Green; General Polk, with 
about one hundred twenty-one thousand men, held Columbus 
and the surrounding points; while Brigadier General Zollicoffer, 
with about six thousand men, held Cumberland Gap. To break 
this line was the object of the Federal forces that were under the 
command of General Halleck at St. Louis and General Buell at 
Louisville. In a short time these two generals mustered a well- 
armed and thoroughly equipped army of about one hundred 
thousand men. In addition to these land forces, the Federals 
had a good river fleet. 

389. Federal Victory at Mill Springs—Capture of Forts 
Henry and Donelson. General Thomas made the first break 
in the Confederate lines. He attacked and totally defeated 
Zollicoffer at Mill Springs, where he secured prisoners, guns, 
and valuable military stores. The result of this battle was the 
capture of Cumberland Gap, which opened the way to eastern 
Tennessee. 

To control the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, the Con¬ 
federates had erected Forts Henry and Donelson. Commodore 
Foote with a flotilla of ironclad gunboats captured (February) 
Fort Henry, whereupon the Confederates escaped to Fort 
Donelson on the Cumberland. A week later (the flotilla having 
made its way from the Tennessee into the Cumberland) Grant, 
aided by Foote’s gunboats, made an attack upon Fort Donelson, 
which General Buckner was forced to surrender with its garrison 
of about fifteen thousand men. To the Confederates’ inquiry 
as to terms of surrender, Grant wrote his famous reply: “No 
terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be 
accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.” 


302 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


By this victory the Federals gained large quantities of guns and 
military stores. 

The capture of Fort Donelson was one of the turning points 
of the war. It was the first great Union victory, and the North 
was jubilant. The Confederates had been obliged to abandon 
Bowling Green, Columbus, and Nashville. Thus Kentucky and 

most of Tennessee had been 
yielded to the Federals. Chat¬ 
tanooga, the key to east 
Tennessee, was now open to 
capture. The victory gave 
the Unionists an advance of 
one hundred miles into the 
Confederate lines. “Uncon¬ 
ditional Surrender” Grant 
was the hero of the hour. 

390. Union Victory at Shi¬ 
loh. After the capture of Fort 
Donelson, the Confederates, 
under Johnston, Beauregard, 
and Bragg, made Corinth 
their center for further mili¬ 
tary action. Grant, with the 
Army of the Tennessee, and 
Buell, with the Army of the 
Cumberland, occupied Nash¬ 
ville. Grant proceeded to 
Pittsburg Landing, near Shi¬ 
loh, in southwestern Tennessee, to which place Buell was hasten¬ 
ing from Nashville. The two armies planned to advance upon 
the Confederates at Corinth. Johnston, hoping to crush Grant 
before Buell could arrive, made a hasty march from Corinth and 
met the Union army at Shiloh. On the first day the Union forces 
were defeated and driven steadily back toward the river. On the 
night following, however, when Buell arrived, the Unionists won 








ABRAHAM LINCOLN^ ADMINISTRATION 


303 


a great victory. The Confederates were forced from the field 
with the loss of their noble commander, Albert Sydney Johnston, 
and twenty-five thousand men. This was one of the bloodiest 
battles of the war. General Beauregard now assumed command 
of the Confederate forces, which had retreated to Corinth. 

391. Opening of the Mississippi. After aiding in the capture 
of Donelson, Foote with his gunboats attacked Island No. 10 
in the Mississippi River. He captured the place on the same 
day that Grant and Buell won the famous battle of Shiloh. 
Fort Pillow was next taken (June); then the Union gunboats, 
advancing down the Mississippi, captured Memphis. The 
Mississippi River was now opened to Vicksburg, and the Federal 
line of defense extended from Memphis to Chattanooga. 

392. The Battles of Perryville and Murfreesboro. Bragg, 
who succeeded Beauregard as Confederate commander in the 
West, determined to recover Tennessee and Kentucky. He 
started northward toward Louisville, but Buell reached the city 
before he did, and saved it. An indecisive battle was fought at 
Perryville (October) and the Confederates withdrew to Chatta¬ 
nooga. They next fortified Murfreesboro, where Rosecrans, who 
had superseded Buell, attacked and defeated Bragg in one of the 
hardest fought battles of the war. The battle, however, was not 
decisive, for, though the Confederates were obliged to withdraw, 
the Federals were too much crippled to pursue. The control of 
central Tennessee was now in the hands of the Unionists. 

NAVAL OPERATIONS ALONG THE COAST 

393. Battles Between the Ironclads. While the army in the 
West was busy carrying out its work in the plan of the war, the 
Federal blockade of the southern ports was suddenly endan¬ 
gered. The Virginia , a Confederate ironclad gunboat, which 
had formerly been the Merrimac, under the command of Com¬ 
modore Franklin Buchanan, entered (March) Hampton Roads. 
Here it met a Union fleet, which, with the land batteries, rained 
shot and shell against the ironclad monster without effect. The 


304 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


strange craft thrust its prow into the Cumberland and sank it. 
It next drove the other vessels ashore and set several of them on 
fire. Had not darkness come on, it would have destroyed the 
whole fleet. Satisfied with the results of the day, it withdrew to 
Norfolk, intending to continue its work of destruction the next 
day. As it steamed proudly out from Norfolk the following 
morning (March 9), the Confederate ironclad was, to its intense 



THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC 


surprise, confronted by the Union ironclad Monitor , in command 
of Lieutenant John Worden. By one of the strangest and most 
dramatic coincidences in our history, this new Union ironclad 
had arrived during the night from New York. At once the 
battle began and continued for four hours with the utmost 
desperation. The little Monitor darted at the great Confed¬ 
erate warrior and, close against each other, the two crafts ex- 









































































ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION 305 

changed their heaviest shots. The Merrimac, trying to run 
down the Monitor , could only grate over its iron deck, while 
the Monitor glided out unharmed. Finally the pilot-house of the 
Monitor was struck by a shell and its commander blinded. It 
then retired. The Merrimac steamed back to Norfolk, and the 
fight was ended as a draw. 

On the outcome of this battle, the first ever fought between 
ironclad ships, hinged the fate of the war. Had the Merrimac 
succeeded: 

(a) the blockade would soon have been destroyed, the cotton 

markets opened, and war supplies from England received. 

In short, secession might have triumphed. 

( b ) the Peninsular Campaign, which we shall presently study, 

would have been prevented. 

The Monitor , scarcely one-fourth as large as the Merrimac , was 
a new Union ironclad built by John Ericsson in the Brooklyn 
navy yard. It was a hull with a deck a few inches above water, 
in the center of which was a curious revolving iron turret con¬ 
taining two guns. It was nicknamed “Yankee cheese box on a 
plank,” but it was then one of the most powerful warships in the 
world. Strangely enough, neither vessel did much further serv¬ 
ice. The Merrimac was blown up by the Confederates when 
they abandoned Norfolk during McClellan’s Peninsular Cam¬ 
paign in May, 1862, and the Monitor sank in a storm at sea 
near Cape Hatteras in December of the same year. 

394. Capture of New Orleans. The Mississippi had been 
opened from the north as far south as Vicksburg; but with 
New Orleans in possession of the Confederates, the Union 
could not possibly secure either a complete blockade or the 
control of the rest of the river. Hence an expedition of naval 
and land forces (about fifteen thousand), commanded by Com¬ 
modore David Farragut and General Benjamin Butler, sailed 
from Hampton Roads and landed on Ship Island, in the mouth 
of the Mississippi. The approach to New Orleans from the 
south was guarded by the two strongly fortified forts, Jack- 


306 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


son and St. Philip, located some distance below the city. Below 
the forts the river was obstructed by a raft of vessels and logs, 
connected by chains, while above them was a fleet of thirteen 
Confederate gunboats and an ironclad floating battery. At 
a favorable opportunity, Farragut, amid the bombardment of 
the forts, broke the chains which connected the raft, and with 
his flotilla of forty vessels made a perilous run past the forts, 
destroyed the Confederate gunboats, and forced New Orleans 
to surrender (April). General Butler took command of the 
city as military governor. By the capture of New Orleans the 
blockade was rendered more thorough, and the Mississippi 
River, except for the stretch from Port Hudson to Vicksburg, 
was left in the control of the Union forces. 

WAR IN THE EAST—PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN 

395. Position of the Armies—The Project of Capturing Rich¬ 
mond. Returning to the war in the East, we find that after 
the Federal defeat at Bull Run, McClellan, who had superseded 
McDowell, spent the winter (1861-1862) organizing and disci¬ 
plining his forces—the Army of the Potomac—which num¬ 
bered about two hundred thousand. The Confederate army in 
the East, commanded by Joseph E. Johnston, numbered less than 
one hundred thousand. 

The capture of Richmond was the object of the North. The 
city could be approached in three ways: by direct land route, 
through the Shenandoah Valley, and by Chesapeake Bay and 
the peninsula between the James and York Rivers. The people 
of the North, as well as the authorities at Washington, favored 
the direct land route to Richmond. McClellan, however, pre¬ 
ferred the old Revolutionary fighting field, and Lincoln reluc¬ 
tantly yielded to him. McClellan’s plan necessitated a division 
of the Union forces in the East into four separate armies under 
independent commanders: one under McClellan in the penin¬ 
sula, another under McDowell for the protection of Washington, 


ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION 307 

a third under Banks in the Shenandoah Valley, and a fourth 
under Fremont in the passes leading to West Virginia. 

396. McClellan Fights His Way to the Vicinity of Richmond. 
McClellan transported (April) his army of ninety thousand 
by water to Fortress Monroe. Moving up the peninsula be¬ 
tween the York and James Rivers, he besieged Yorktown, but 
the Confederates, after delaying him for a month, slipped away 
unharmed. He hurried after the retreating Confederates and 
defeated them at 
Williamsburg. He 
next advanced to the 
Chickahominy River, 
where a part of his 
army crossed to Fair 
Oaks, or Seven Pines, 
and was attacked by 
the Confederates un¬ 
der Johnston. After 
two days of desperate 
fighting, the Confederates, with Johnston wounded, retired. 
Robert E. Lee now succeeded Johnston in command of the 
southern troops. 

397. Jackson’s and Stuart’s Raids. Instead of attacking 
Richmond at once, McClellan waited for McDowell to reen¬ 
force him at White House Landing. But Stonewall Jackson 
made a dashing raid through the Shenandoah Valley, the 
“backdoor to Washington,” defeated Banks and Fremont, 
cleared the valley of Federal troops, and rushed his troops to 
assist Lee against McClellan. General Stuart, with his cavalry, 
had encircled McClellan’s army, torn up railroads, and burned 
immense quantities of supplies. 

398. The Seven Days’ Battles. McClellan determined to 
change his base of operations from the York to the James 
River, but was attacked on the way by the Confederates in a 
series of battles known as the “Seven Days’ Battles,” the last 








308 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


of which, Malvern Hill, resulted in Lee’s repulse. McClellan 
withdrew his army to Harrison’s Landing on the James River. 
The peninsular campaign had ended in failure, for Richmond 
had not been taken. In the North keen discouragement was 
felt over this failure. 

399. New Measures Passed by Congress. Congress during 
this period passed a number of measures, the most important 
of which were the construction of a railroad to the Pacific 
Ocean, the establishment of a Department of Agriculture, and 
the “Morrill Act,” which gave to each state as many times thirty 
thousand acres of land as it had members in Congress, for the 
support of agricultural colleges and the teaching of mechanical 
arts. This “Morrill Act” was of great educational importance, 
since it was the origin of most of the agricultural colleges and 
many of the state universities of the United States. 

LEE'S INVASION OF THE NORTH 

400. Federal Defeats at Cedar Mountain, Bull Run, and Har¬ 
per’s Ferry—Victory at Antietam. General Halleck was made 
commander-in-chief of the Union armies, and McClellan was 
ordered to join General John Pope, who was stationed at Cedar 
Mountain. Before McClellan could arrive, the Confederates 
under Lee and Jackson had defeated Pope’s forces in the second 
battle of Bull Run. 

After his victory, Lee crossed the Potomac into Maryland 
and captured Harper’s Ferry. McClellan followed and met 
him at Antietam in the most desperate one-day battle of the 
war. Lee was obliged to retreat across the Potomac into Vir¬ 
ginia, his first invasion of the North having thus failed. Mc¬ 
Clellan was blamed by the country for not pursuing Lee across 
the Potomac. Consequently, Lincoln transferred the command 

0k 

of the Army of the Potomac to General Burnside. 

401. Federal Defeat at Fredericksburg. Burnside proved as 
rash as McClellan had been over-cautious. He crossed the 
Rappahannock (December) and, throwing his army against 


ABRAHAM LINCOLN ’S ADMINISTRATION 


309 


Lee, who occupied a strongly fortified position at Fredericks¬ 
burg, was defeated with an immense loss. He was superseded 
in command by General Hooker, known as “ Fighting Joe.” 

402. Hostile Attitude of Great Britain. Lincoln was espe¬ 
cially depressed because of the result of the war in the East. 
He looked forward to a victory which would change the atti¬ 
tude of Great Britain. The unfriendly disposition to the Union 
Government evinced by this nation at the beginning of the war 
was increased by the “ Trent Affair,” and now, after McClel¬ 
lan’s reverses, it became still more apparent. Shipyards in 
Great Britain built and equipped a number of swift sailing- 
steamships for Confederate service. With these vessels, most 
noted among which were the Alabama, Shenandoah, Florida, 
Tallahassee, and Georgia, the Confederate authorities succeeded 
in inflicting a great deal of damage on the Union shipping; in 
fact, they very nearly cleared the ocean of American commerce. 

403. Emancipation. According to the President and Con¬ 
gress, the object of the war was to save the Union. But Lincoln 
had been thinking seriously of emancipation. William H. 
Seward, Secretary of State, advised him to wait for a Union vic¬ 
tory. Antietam served the purpose, and on September 22, 
Lincoln issued a proclamation which gave formal notice that 
unless the Confederates yielded allegiance to the Union within 
one hundred days thereafter, he would declare the slaves within 
their limits free. The seceded states did not heed this proclama¬ 
tion. Accordingly, on the first of January, 1863, Lincoln issued 
a formal proclamation by which the slaves of the Confederate 
states were freed. It at once became a world-known fact that 
victory for the Federal arms now meant two things—the union 
of the states and the liberty of the slaves. 

Lincoln thought that the Emancipation Proclamation would 
weaken the South; would prevent foreign recognition of its 
independence; and would bring about the final overthrow of 
slavery. His action was, of course, without constitutional war¬ 
rant. It was entirely a war measure. Missouri (1863) and 


310 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Maryland (1864) freed their own slaves, but the abolition of 
slavery throughout the country could be accomplished only by 
an amendment to the Constitution. 

THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR—1863 
WAR IN THE EAST—LEE'S SECOND INVASION OF THE NORTH 

404. Plan—Federal Defeat at Chancellorsville. General 
Hooker spent some months in reorganizing and recruiting his 
forces. In May he led his army to Chancellorsville, where he was 

badly defeated by Lee. In 
this battle the South lost one 
of her ablest leaders. Stone¬ 
wall Jackson, while riding- 
back to camp in the evening, 
was mortally wounded by an 
accidental shot from one of 
his own men. Jackson ranks 
among the world’s greatest 
military commanders. 

405. The Great Battle of 
Gettysburg, the Turning 
Point of the War. Encour¬ 
aged by his success, Lee set 
out to invade the North for 
a second time. He passed 
around Hooker’s army, which 
was falling back to protect 
Washington, and proceeded 
through Maryland, into Pennsylvania. The North was alarmed. 
The Army of the Potomac, led by General George E. Meade, 
who had superseded Hooker, pursued Lee, hoping to head him 
off from Harrisburg and Philadelphia. The two armies met on 
the famous field of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and after a battle 
of three days (July 1 to 3), the Confederate troops were defeated. 
They retreated, followed by the Union troops across Maryland 



STONEWALL JACKSON 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION 


311 



Gettysburg^* 


cyLpslHiLlS 




Ll.TTLEfROUN DJOPlM 


ROUNDjT.Q.R: 




GETTYSBURG AND VICINITY 

into Virginia, where the two armies confronted each other on 
the Rapidan (a branch of the Rappahannock). Here they went 
into winter quarters. 

The battle of Gettysburg may be regarded as the turning 
point of the war. It put an end to Confederate invasion of 












312 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


the North and marked the beginning of the decline of the South. 
The day after Lee had been defeated by Meade at Gettysburg, 
Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Grant. 

The battlefield of Gettysburg was made a national cemetery. 
It was dedicated on November 19, 1863, when President Lincoln 
delivered an address which is now regarded as a classic. (Read 
Lincoln's “Gettysburg Address.") 

Questions 

1. What is secession? What is meant by Civil War? What advantages 
did the North have? The South? 

2. What were the results of the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter? 

3. Describe the steps taken by each side to organize an army. Why did the 
North blockade the southern ports? What attitude did foreign nations take 
toward the struggle? 

4. Locate Manassas Junction in relation to Richmond, the Confederate 
capital. What did the North learn from the battle of Bull Run? 

5. What was the Trent Affair? 

6. Where were the neutral border states? Why did the North make a great 
effort to keep these within the Union? (Notice how they stood between the 
free states and the seceded states.) 

7. Study the map and tell why the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson 
and of Shiloh was important. Why was it very important to the North to 
capture New Orleans? What were the results of the battle between the 
Merrimac and the Monitor? Show on the map where the battle took place. 

8. Trace on the map the three directions from which Richmond might have 
been attacked by the North. Which was McClellan’s choice? What did 
he accomplish? 

9. What was the “Morrill Act”? 

10. What was the effect of the Union defeats of 1862 on Great Britain’s 
attitude? 

11. Why did Lincoln emancipate the slaves? 

12. Why is the battle of Gettysburg regarded as one of the decisive battles 
of history? Locate Gettysburg. 

Theme Topics 

1. Describe the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac. (See picture on 
page 304.) 

2. The Death of Stonewall Jackson. 


CHAPTER XXXI 


FROM THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’S SURRENDER AT 

APPOMATTOX—1863-1865 

THE WAR IN THE WEST 

406. The Federals Capture Vicksburg. The year 1863 
opened with Vicksburg, the stronghold on the Mississippi, and 
Chattanooga, the Confederate gateway of 
the West, as the objective points of the 
Union forces in the West. Grant had tried 
plan after plan for attacking Vicksburg, 
but without success. Finally Admiral 
Porter with his gunboats ran supplies 
down the river past the batteries in a 
terrific fire. Grant with his army marched 
from Holly Springs to Memphis, crossed 
the river and proceeded down the western 
bank to Grand Gulf. Crossing back to 
the east side, he defeated the Confederates 
under Pemberton, driving them inside the 
defenses of Vicksburg. After a long siege, 

Pemberton surrendered with 32,000 men 
(July 4). Four days later, Port Hudson 
and the remaining Confederate posts on 
the river yielded to General Banks. The 
Mississippi, from the source to the mouth, 
was now in control of the Federal govern¬ 
ment, or, as President Lincoln expressed 
it, “The Father of Waters rolled unvexed to the sea.” 

407. The Confederates Abandon Chattanooga—They De¬ 
feat the Federals at Chickamauga. After the battle of Mur- 

313 







314 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


freesboro, Bragg retreated before Rosecrans into the important 
stronghold of Chattanooga. No further decisive military oper¬ 
ations took place in Tennessee or Georgia for about six months. 



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Finally Rosecrans moved southward around Bragg’s army, 
whereupon the Confederate general abandoned Chattanooga 
and retreated into Georgia toward Atlanta. 









THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’s SURRENDER 315 


Rosecrans pursued Bragg, who, having received reenforce¬ 
ments from Lee, unexpectedly faced about and attacked (Sep¬ 
tember) the Federals at Chickamauga in one of the most des¬ 
perate battles of the war. As a result of the battle, the Federal 
troops fell back to Chattanooga, where they were besieged by 
General Bragg. About seventeen thousand lives were lost 
on each side. General Thomas now superseded Rosecrans. 
During this battle, Thomas greatly distinguished himself. Hold¬ 
ing his ground against the persistent assaults of the enemy, he 
gave the Union army time to retreat in fair condition to Chat¬ 
tanooga. His skill and gallantry that day won for him the title, 
“The Rock of Chickamauga.’’ 

408. Confederate Defeat at Chattanooga. Grant, who had 
been put at the head of all the armies west of the Alleghanies, 
assumed command at Chattanooga, where he summoned troops 
from the East and the West. Hooker came from the Army 
of the Potomac, Sherman from the Army of the Tennessee, 
while Thomas led the Army of the Cumberland. 

Sherman and Thomas attacked and captured Missionary 
Ridge, while General Hooker stormed Lookout Mountain in 
the “battle above the clouds.” Communications were opened 
with Chattanooga, and Bragg’s forces retreated southward 
(November) to Dalton, Georgia, where Bragg turned over his 
command to General Johnston. 

Grant, whose successes at Vicksburg and Chattanooga won 
for him the rank of lieutenant-general, now succeeded Halleck 
as general-in-chief of all the Union armies. 

409. Confederate Blockade-Runners. The Confederate block¬ 
ade-runners did enormous damage to northern commerce during 
this year. The Florida , built and equipped in an English ship¬ 
yard, ran the blockade at Mobile, and, entering upon its career 
of destruction, captured some twenty vessels. It was finally 
seized in the harbor of Bahia, Brazil. Three of her prizes, how¬ 
ever, had been fitted out as cruisers, which were manned from 
her officers and crew. 


316 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


POLITICAL AFFAIRS 

410. The Draft Act. Because of the rapid decrease in the 
number of Union volunteers, Congress resorted to a draft act 
(March 3, 1863), to fill up the Union ranks. All able-bodied 
men between the ages of twenty and forty-five (later eighteen 
and forty-five) were enrolled by the Federal officers. From 
this enrollment men were chosen by lot. The drafting of these 
men into the army aroused much ill-feeling in the North, espe¬ 
cially among the laboring classes and those opposed to the war. 
In several places the draft officials were vigorously resisted. 
In New York (July) a “draft riot,” by a great mob, controlled 
the city for several days, burning houses and killing negroes. 
The Federal troops succeeded in dispersing the mob, but only 
after more than a thousand rioters had been killed. 

In the South, too, a draft act was issued, and here also it met 
with opposition. It included all able-bodied men between the 
ages of eighteen and forty-five (later seventeen and fifty). Con¬ 
sequently, all the industries of the Confederacy were left in 
the hands of men over fifty and of women and children. The 
draft act resulted in indescribable suffering. 

411. Legal Tender and Banking Acts. Congress passed 
(1862) the Legal Tender Act, which authorized the issue of 
small promissory notes, similar to bank notes; these, from their 
color, were called greenbacks. They were made legal tender, 
that is, any debtor could offer them instead of gold in discharge 
of a debt and the creditor was forced to accept them. 

The value of the greenbacks fluctuated according to the 
fortunes of the war—a Federal victory raising their value, a Con¬ 
federate success decreasing it. Thus the greenback dollar, 
which was equivalent to ninety-eight cents in 1862, fell to about 
seventy-five cents in 1863, and by July, 1864, it was worth 
scarcely more than thirty-five cents. More than five hundred 
million dollars in greenbacks were issued and put into circulation 
during the Civil War. A part of these greenbacks, or notes, are 


THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’s SURRENDER 317 


still in circulation, although they have, of course, been many 
times renewed. 

Congress during this year passed a National Bank Act by 
which a company of five or more persons with a certain amount 
of capital could establish a bank. The banking company, which 
was obliged to deposit government bonds as security in the 
United States treasury, was permitted to issue notes to the 
extent of ninety per cent of its bonds. The government thus 
held the bonds as security for the notes in case of the bank’s 
failure. This National Bank Act attained three objects: 

(а) it secured a market for national bonds; 

(б) it provided the country with a uniform and safe currency; 
(c) it established the confidence of the people in the government. 

Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, who was the 
author of the banking and legal tender acts, subsequently be¬ 
came known as the “Father of Greenbacks.” 

FOURTH AND LAST YEAR OF THE WAR—1864 

412. Position of the Armies—Union Plan. At the beginning 
of 1864, Grant was made commander-in-chief of all the Union 
armies. He himself assumed direct control of the operations 
in Virginia, while the armies of the West, centered at Chatta¬ 
nooga, were put under the command of General Sherman. The 
Confederates had now but two chief centers of power—one at 
Dalton, Georgia, under the direction of General Joseph E. 
Johnston, and another at Richmond, Virginia, under General 
Lee. Early in the spring, Grant and Sherman met to arrange a 
plan for final movements. 

Sherman, with an army of one hundred thousand men, was 
to defeat Johnston and march to the sea, while Grant, with 
one hundred twenty thousand men, was to move to Virginia 
and attack Lee. They were to march forth on the same day 
(May 4) in order to prevent the Confederate forces from giving 
aid to one another. 



318 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


CAMPAIGNS IN TENNESSEE AND GEORGIA 

413. Capture of Atlanta. In accordance with the plans of 
the two Union generals, Sherman moved from Chattanooga 
against Johnston, who was strongly intrenched at Dalton, 
Georgia. After defeating Johnston in the battles of Dalton, 
Resaca, Dallas, and Kenesaw Mountain, he at length, after a 
perilous four-month march, reached Atlanta, having sustained 
a loss of over thirty-one thousand men. 

Georgia was the workshop, 
the storehouse, granary, and 
arsenal of the Confederacy, 
and Atlanta was the center 
from which all the necessaries 
were furnished to the southern 
armies. By capturing it, the 
Union forces would strike the 
Confederacy an almost fatal 
blow. Its capture, however, 
was not an easy task. The 
Union center of supplies was 
Nashville, over a hundred 
miles from Chattanooga, and 
every mile of advance by the 
Federal troops into Georgia 
took them farther away from 
their base of supplies. The 
country was rough and moun¬ 
tainous; there was only a sin- 
chattanooga to Atlanta gle line of railway over which 

supplies for the army could be 
transported, and Sherman was compelled to leave parts of his 
army to protect this line against the enemy. The Confederate 
government, disapproving of Johnston’s policy of constant 
retreat, appointed Hood to supersede him. Hood made three 
attacks upon Sherman at Atlanta, only to be defeated and finally. 









THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’s SURRENDER 319 


compelled to evacuate the city. He started northwestward 
toward Nashville, hoping thus to draw Sherman back to 
Tennessee. 

Sherman, suspecting Hood's strategy, sent Thomas to hold 
Nashville, and followed Hood just long enough to be sure 
that he was really moving. He then returned to Atlanta, tear¬ 
ing up railroads and cutting telegraph wires as he went. 

414. Sherman's March. After burning Atlanta Sherman 
started out on his three hundred-mile march to the sea. His army 
of sixty thousand men, marching 
in four columns, covered a path 
sixty miles in width. Railroads 
were torn up; buildings were 
burned; crops were destroyed; in 
fact, the whole region was left a 
barren waste. By the middle of 
December, Sherman, having 
reached the sea, stormed Fort 
McAllister, which guarded Sa¬ 
vannah, and a week later cap¬ 
tured the city itself. The effect 
of this march to the sea was of 
great importance to the North. 

The eastern part of the Confed¬ 
eracy was cut in two, and im¬ 
mense supplies of provisions were 
captured. Sherman sent the news 
of the capture of Savannah to the 
President in the following message: “I beg to present you as a 
Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred fifty 
heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; also about twenty-five 
thousand bales of cotton." 

415. The Federal Victory at Nashville. Hood crossed the 
Tennessee, and after severe fighting at Franklin, pushed on 
to Nashville, where he shut up General Thomas within the 





320 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


fortifications. Thomas, after waiting two weeks, suddenly 
attacked Hood (December), and defeated the entire Confed¬ 
erate army, ending the war in the West. 

416. Sherman Marches Northward. In February General 
Sherman, after his army had rested for about a month, started 
northward to join Grant in Virginia. On his way he captured 
Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. He then proceeded 
northward, encountering the Confederates at Averysboro and 
Bentonville and compelling them to withdraw to Raleigh, North 

Carolina. General Johnston evacuated 
the city a few days later and retired 
westward. He surrendered to Sherman 
at Durham’s Station late in April. 

417. Grant’s Campaign Against Lee. 
Grant’s plan of advance against Lee 
in Virginia was threefold: he himself 
would move directly toward Rich¬ 
mond, attacking Lee at every favorable 
opportunity on the way; at the same 
time General Butler was to move 
against Richmond by the James River; 
while Franz Sigel was to confront the 
enemy in the Shenandoah Valley. 

Grant’s army of about one hundred twenty thousand crossed 
the Rapidan (May) and entered the Wilderness, a densely 
wooded region south of Chancellorsville. Here they met the 
Confederates under Lee, and a fierce battle was fought. After 
the second day’s fighting, Grant telegraphed President Lincoln, 
“I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.” 
He meant that he would batter Lee’s lines until he broke 
through by superior fighting force and weight of numbers. 
After a day’s rest Grant marched on toward Richmond, fighting 
the Confederates at Spottsylvania Court House and at Cold 
Harbor. In each of these battles thousands of men were lost. 
Grant now determined to attack Richmond from the south. He 








TIIE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’S SURRENDER 321 

swung his entire army across the James and proceeded to the 
strongly fortified city of Petersburg (June). Here he found that 
Lee had preceded him, and a 
long siege was necessary be¬ 
fore the city could be taken. 

418. Raids on the Shen¬ 
andoah. Lee, in order to 
divert Grant’s attention from 
Richmond, sent General 
Early, with about twenty 
thousand veterans, down the 
Shenandoah Valley to threat¬ 
en Washington. Early made 
a brilliant dash, drove the 
Federals into Virginia, de¬ 
feated General Lew Wallace 
at Monocacy, and came with¬ 
in a few miles of the city. He 
next mvaded Pennsylvania, 
where he succeeded in burning the town of Chambersburg. 

General Philip Sheridan, commander of the cavalry of the 
Potomac, was sent against Early. Sheridan defeated the Con¬ 
federates (September) at Winchester, and drove them through 
the gaps of the Blue Ridge. Early suddenly returned, routed 
the Union forces at Cedar Creek, and sent them fleeing for 
their lives toward Winchester, some fourteen miles distant. 
Sheridan, who was returning from Washington, had chanced to 
stop off for the night at Winchester. Hearing the roar of the 
cannons, he immediately leaped on his horse and dashed toward 
the scene of defeat. He met the fugitives, urged them to halt, 
reformed their lines, and gallantly led them back to battle and 
to victory. In accordance with Grant’s orders, Sheridan des¬ 
olated the beautiful valley, burned houses, barns, mills, and 
grain, and drove away live stock of every kind. It is said that 
after his raid not even a crow could have found its living in the 









322 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

valley. Within sixteen days Sheridan had cleared the Shen¬ 
andoah Valley of the Confederates, had rendered the region a 
barren waste, and was back again with the Army of the Poto¬ 
mac. (Read “ Sheridan’s Ride” by Buchanan Read.) 

419. New States. Two new states were admitted during 
the years 1863 and 1864: West Virginia as the thirty-fifth 
state and Nevada as the thirty-sixth. 


OPERATIONS ON THE COAST 



420. The Kearsarge Captures the Alabama. As has been 
previously told, England assisted the Confederacy by fitting 

out vessels which did great injury 
to the Union maritime commerce. 
Among these cruisers the most 
famous was the Alabama, com¬ 
manded by Captain Semmes, a 
Confederate officer. It destroyed 
no less than sixty-nine United 
States merchantmen and ten 
million dollars’ worth of property. 
After a long and destructive cruise 
in the waters of the West Indies, 
Brazil, and the East Indies, the 
Alabama was at last (June, 1864) 
brought to bay off the French 
port, Cherbourg, by the Kear¬ 
sarge, a United States warship, 
commanded by the brave and 
skillful Captain Winslow. A fierce one-hour duel ensued, in 
which the Alabama was shattered and sunk. 

421. The Federals Capture Mobile and Fort Fisher. While 
Grant was campaigning against Lee in Virginia, and Sherman 
against Hood in Georgia, Admiral Farragut planned the cap¬ 
ture of Mobile. With his strong fleet of fourteen wooden vessels 
and five monitors, he determined (August) to make a desperate 


ADMIRAL FARRAGUT 




THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’s SURRENDER 323 

attempt to run past the two powerful forts, Gaines and Morgan, 
which guarded the city. After he had lashed the Union vessels 
in pairs for mutual assistance, Farragut tied himself to the 
rigging of his ship, where he could oversee every move of the 
battle. In a desperate conflict that lasted several hours, the 
Confederate iron ram Tennessee was taken, while the other 
vessels were either captured or put to flight, and Mobile was 
at length compelled to surrender. 

Some months after the capture of Mobile, a powerful naval 
fleet under Admiral Porter, accompanied by a land force under 
General Terry,captured Fort Fisher, which defended the harbor 
of Wilmington, North Carolina. With this victory, one of the 
most brilliant of the war, the last Confederate channel of inter¬ 
course with foreign nations was closed. 

CLOSE OF GRANT'S OVERLAND CAMPAIGN 

422. The Federals Compel the Confederates to Evacuate 
Richmond. After Sheridan had desolated the Shenandoah 
Valley, he joined Grant in the siege of Petersburg. Lee made 
an effort to break through the Union lines, but was defeated 
by Sheridan in the battle of Five 
Forks. The next day Grant made a 
general attack on Petersburg, where¬ 
upon Lee evacuated both Petersburg 
and Richmond (April 3), and the 
Federal troops took possession of the 
Confederate capital. Lee retreated 
with the purpose of bringing his own 
and Johnston’s forces together for a final stand. Grant’s forces 
pursued him closely. Lee made an effort to escape with his 
army southward, but he was almost surrounded by Grant’s 
forces, while Sherman, coming up from Raleigh, completely 
blocked his retreat to the South. The Confederates had for 
many days lived on parched corn and young shoots of trees, 
and many of them dropped their guns from exhaustion. 






324 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


423. The Surrender of the Confederate Armies. Thus 

pressed on all sides, Lee, not wishing to cause needless blood¬ 
shed, surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House (April 
9, 1865). 

The two great commanders met in the McLean home, one of 
the largest of the five houses in Appomattox, to arrange the 
terms of surrender. By these terms: 

(а) the Confederate soldiers and officers were permitted to go 

home on their parole not to take up arms again until 
properly exchanged; 

(б) all the Confederate officers were allowed to retain their 

side arms, horses, and baggage; and the privates who 
owned horses and mules were permitted to take them 
home—“they will need them for the spring plowing,” 
said Grant; 

(c) five days’ rations were given to Lee’s famished soldiers. 

Johnston surrendered to Sherman (April 26), and the Civil 
War, which had so long desolated the country, was at an end. 

424. The Confederate President and Officers. As soon as 
Richmond was evacuated, the officers of the Confederate gov¬ 
ernment, hoping to escape to foreign shores, fled in various 
directions toward the coast. Jefferson Davis endeavored to 
escape capture by fleeing through the Carolinas into Georgia, 
but was taken at Irvinsville (May 10, 1865). He was con¬ 
fined in Fortress Monroe until released on bail (1867). No 
other officer of the Confederate government was prosecuted. 
President Johnson pardoned all on Christmas Day, 1868. Only 
one Confederate was put to death at the close of the war—the 
keeper of the Andersonville prison, whose neglect of duty had 
caused the death of twelve thousand prisoners of war. 

425. Lincoln Is Assassinated. The news that the war had 
ended was received with an outburst of joy in the North. Lin¬ 
coln, who had been reelected in 1864, had said in his second 
inaugural address: “With malice toward none; with charity 
for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the 


THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’s SURRENDER 325 

right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up 
the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the 
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may 
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, 
and with all nations.” But the joy of the nation was soon 
changed into sorrow by the assassination of President Lincoln 
at Ford’s Theater in Washington, April 14, 1865. Lincoln was 
sitting in his private box in the theater, surrounded by his family 
and friends, when John Wilkes Booth, an actor, forced his way 
into the box and shot the President through the head. He then 
leaped over the railing upon the stage, and shouting, “Sic semper 
tyrannis” (‘‘Thus ever to tyrants”—the motto of Virginia), 
rushed from the building. The President never regained con¬ 
sciousness and died the next morning. 

No one was less deserving than President Lincoln of the 
reproachful title of “tyrant” ascribed to him by the assassin. 
No other man in all our political history had come so near to 
the hearts of the common people. If Washington is called the 
“Father of the. People,” Lincoln may well be termed their 
“Elder Brother.” Trained in the hard school of poverty and 
want, and little used to refinements of society, he was gifted 
with great common sense, kindness, sincerity, farsightedness, 
shrewdness, and steadfastness of purpose. He showed the 
highest skill in dealing with his enemies and opponents and 
in interpreting the half-expressed will of the people; complete 
master of himself, he held to his convictions with an iron will. 
This honest, simple man won the admiration of the masses 
and rose to be, as Stanton asserted, one of the “most perfect 
rulers of men the world has ever seen.” 

The whole nation mourned over the death of the great leader. 
His body was borne, midst the expressions of the deepest grief 
and affection, from Washington through the chief cities of the 
East and westward to Springfield, Illinois, where it was laid 
in its final resting place. In 1922 a great building at Washing¬ 
ton, D. C., was dedicated to the memory of Lincoln. 


326 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


426. Closing Events of the War. Before the Union soldiers 
disbanded, as many of them as possible marched to Washing¬ 
ton for a general review before the President, Congress, and 
an immense throng of people. During two days the veterans 
under Grant and Sherman marched in one continuous column, 
twenty men deep and about thirty miles long, down Penn¬ 
sylvania Avenue. After the parade the soldiers were dis¬ 
banded. 

427. Result of the War. The Civil War was the greatest 
of its kind in history. The cost in human life and property 
was enormous. More than half a million men were killed and 
several hundred thousand were permanently disabled. The 
destruction of property throughout the country, the value of 
slaves to the South, and the expenditure necessary to carry 
on the war amounted to more than seven billion dollars. But 
there were two important results: 

(a) the Union was preserved and the claim to the right of 

secession abandoned; 

( b) slavery was forever abolished by the Thirteenth Amend¬ 

ment to the Constitution (December, 1865). 

428. Christian and Sanitary Commissions. The armies and 
navies were not the only agents distinguished for heroism during 
the long struggle of the Civil War. Humane and charitable men 
and women organized sanitary and Christian commissions. They 
made it their duty to provide sick and wounded soldiers with 
every possible relief and comfort, and the dead with proper 
burial. This noble work was supported by liberal contributions 
and by the income of “sanitary fairs” held in the principal 
towns and cities. Hundreds of women who had grown up in 
ease and luxury now prepared with their own hands bandages 
for the wounded, and moved about on the battlefield, in the 
camp, and in hospitals, nursing the sick and wounded. The 
women of the South, the scene of most of the war, bore the great¬ 
est privations. They even shared their meager food supplies 
with the sick and famished soldiers. 


THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’s SURRENDER 327 

429. Catholicity and the Civil War. With the end of the 
Civil War a new era dawned for Catholicity. The terrible 
conflict had shaken, as it were, the very foundation of the 
nation; house had been divided against house, and brother 
had been striving against brother. Half the country.had been 
laid waste and rendered desolate; on every side were weari¬ 
ness and exhaustion, and a longing for peace. But the Catho¬ 
lic Church had shed her brilliant light of charity through the 
gloom of war, and at the end of the struggle still stood un¬ 
diminished in strength and unbroken in unity—the pride of 
her children and the admiration of thousands who, before the 
war, had looked upon her progress with jealous concern. 

Great numbers of Protestants, who knew little of the Church, 
had been prejudiced against her. But they had been brought 
into intimate contact with Catholics during the war, and had 
seen enough of the Church and her sublime mission to make 
them forget their bigotry, which now gave way to genuine 
admiration. There was probably not a village throughout the 
land in which there could not be found some brave non-Catholic 
soldier who spoke the praises of some Catholic priest or Sister 
of Charity or noble Catholic fellow soldier. 

Catholics were, it is true, divided on political grounds. They 
were all, however, united in faith, and Catholicity took no 
sides, but sent her heroes of charity to both armies. The Church 
sent her priests from the parish and the college, her nuns from 
the orphan asylums and schoolrooms, to the camp, the hospital, 
the prison, and the bloody battlefield. Meanwhile her places 
of worship resounded with earnest petitions to Heaven for 
peace and with solemn Requiems for the fallen. 

430. Great Commanders. The Civil War brought to the 
front some able commanders. Of the Union generals, Mc¬ 
Clellan’s services in organizing the Army of the Potomac were 
invaluable, but his excessive caution and the friction between 
the authorities at Washington and himself led to disappoint¬ 
ments in his achievements against the Confederates. He was, 


328 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


notwithstanding, very popular with the soldiers, by whom he was 
called “Little Mac.” Grant, though not remarkable for his 
military tactics, is noted for his great pluck and for the fact 
that the three eventful surrenders—Donelson, Vicksburg, and 

Appomattox — were all 
due to him. Next may 
be mentioned Sherman, 
Sheridan, Philip Kearney, 
and Farragut. 

On the southern side 
Lee was by far the ablest 
general, and it is com¬ 
monly believed that he 
had no equal in the North. 
He was the son of “Light- 
horse Harry” of Revolu¬ 
tionary fame. He was 
greatly loved by his sol¬ 
diers and by the southern 
people, and this devotion 
so increased after the war 
that he always and every¬ 
where received the most 
touching demonstrations 
of respect and affection. 
Stonewall Jackson was 
famous as a man of wonderful resources and power. Albert 
Sydney Johnston, who was developing into the ablest com¬ 
mander of the South, died an untimely death at Pittsburgh 
Landing. Next to these ma}^ be ranked Pemberton and Joseph 
E. Johnston. 

431. Catholic Officers. The valor and patriotism of Catholics 
again maintained a position corresponding with their earlier his¬ 
tory. Side by side with the names of Charles Carroll, Barry, 
Lafayette, Moylan, Fitzsimmon, and Archbishop Carroll may be 




THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG TO LEE’s SURRENDER 


329 


found those of Sheridan, Rosecrans, Mulligan, and Archbishop 
Hughes. Among the many other Catholic officers not men¬ 
tioned in our text were Shields, Meagher, Newton, Ewing, 
Sands, Hunt, Stone, McMahon, Kearney, and numerous others, 
the mention of whom would make this list too long. 

At the head of the list of Catholic officers who acquired 
distinction in the war may be placed General Philip Sheri¬ 
dan. After graduating with honor 
from West Point, he distinguished 
himself during the Civil War as 
commander at Booneville, Perry- 
ville, Stone River, Missionary 
Ridge, and finally at Appomat¬ 
tox. Upon the declaration of 
peace he received, with Grant 
and Sherman, the applause of his 
countrymen. 

Next on the list of our Catholic 
generals is Rosecrans, the last sur¬ 
vivor of that remarkable quartet 
—Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and 
Rosecrans. He greatly distin¬ 
guished himself in the numerous 
eventful campaigns carried on by 
the Army of the Cumberland. 

He was an outspoken and practical Catholic, and it was a 
common occurrence with him to have the sacrifice of the Mass 
offered at his headquarters in the field. Sheridan said of him 
that “a visitor to the city of Washington will find no more 
regular attendant at Mass in that decidedly Catholic city than 
Rosecrans—gallant and grand ‘Old Rosey,’ the hero and idol 
of the Army of the Cumberland.’’ 

Questions 

1. Locate Vicksburg. Why was its capture very important to the Union? 

2. What work was being done by the Confederate blockade runners? 








330 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


3. What were the effects of the draft acts? What were the greenbacks? 
What about their value? 

4. What did the National Bank Act do? 

5. What was Grant’s plan of campaign in 1864? Be sure you use the map. 
Why was it an advantage to the Union to get control of Atlanta? What was 
the purpose of Sherman’s march to the sea? Show at the map Grant’s cam¬ 
paign against Lee in Virginia. What did Lee hope to accomplish by 
General Early’s raid? Locate the place where Lee surrendered. Give the 
terms of the surrender. 

6. What were the important results of the war? What humanitarian Avork 
was done during the war? 

7. What effect did the war have upon religious toleration? Why? Why 
is it so very unhappy that religious sects should quarrel? 

Theme Topics 

1. Write a short theme on one of the following men: Rosecrans, Grant, 
Sherman, Lee, Johnston, Sheridan. 

2. Write a brief estimate of Abraham Lincoln. 

3. A Woman Nurses the Sick on a Battlefield. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


1861-1865 

Abraham Lincoln’s Administration (1861-1865)—Republican. 

1861. Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth Presi¬ 
dent. 

The Civil War begins with the attack on Fort Sumter 
(April 12). 

Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee join 
the Confederacy. 

Lincoln calls for seventy-five thousand volunteers 
(April 15). Davis calls for volunteers (April 17). 

The attack on the Sixth Massachusetts regiment, while 
passing through Baltimore, occasions the first blood¬ 
shed of the Civil War (April 19). 

Lincoln proclaims a blockade of the southern ports 
(April 19). 

General Scott is appointed first in command of the 
Union forces (April). 

The Confederates under Beauregard defeat the Federals 
under McDowell at Bull Run (July). 

The “Trent Affair” occurs (November). 

General McClellan supersedes Scott in command of the 
Union forces (November). 

1862. The Federals under Grant and Foote defeat the Con¬ 
federates in the battles of Forts Henry and Donelson 
(February). 

The Confederate ironclad Merrimac is defeated in Hamp¬ 
ton Roads by the Union ironclad Monitor (March). 

331 


332 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


The Confederates under Johnston are defeated by the 
Federals under Grant at Shiloh (April). 

New Orleans is captured by the Union fleet under 
Farragut (April). 

The Federals open the Mississippi to Vicksburg by 
taking Island No. 10, Fort Pillow, and Memphis (April- 
June). 

The Federals under McClellan win the battles of 
Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and the Seven Days’ Battles 
(May-June). 

General Halleck supersedes McClellan. 

Jackson makes a dashing raid through the Shenandoah 
Valley. 

The Federals under Pope are defeated by the Con¬ 
federates under Lee at Bull Run (August). 

The Confederates under Lee win the battle of Harper’s 
Ferry, but are defeated by McClellan at An tie tarn 
(September). 

The first issue of greenbacks is made. 

General Bragg invades Kentucky and is defeated by 
the Federals at Perryville and Murfreesboro. 

General Burnside supersedes McClellan in command of 
the Army of the Potomac (November). 

The Federals under Burnside are defeated by the Con¬ 
federates under Lee at Fredericksburg (December). 
General Hooker supersedes Burnside (December). 

1863. Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation (Jan¬ 
uary 1). 

The Federals under Hooker are defeated by the Con¬ 
federates under Lee at Chancellorsville (May). 
Stonewall Jackson is accidentally shot by one of his own 
men after the battle of Chancellorsville. 

General Meade supersedes Hooker in command (June). 
West Virginia is admitted to the Union as the thirty- 
fifth state (June). 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


333 


The Federals under Meade defeat the Confederates 
under Lee at Gettysburg (July). The battle becomes 
the turning point of the war. 

The Confederates under Lee retreat into Virginia. 

The Federals under Grant capture Vicksburg (July). 

The Confederates under Pemberton surrender Port 
Hudson and the remaining Confederate posts on the 
Mississippi River to General Banks (July). 

The Draft Riot occurs in New York City (July). 

The Federals under Rosecrans are defeated by the Con¬ 
federates under Bragg in the desperate battle of Chick- 
amauga (September). 

Gettysburg is made a national cemetery and Lincoln 
makes his famous Gettysburg address (November). 
Generals Sherman and Thomas capture Missionary 
Ridge, while Hooker captures Lookout Mountain 
(November). 

Congress passes the National Banking Act. 

1864. Archbishop Hughes dies (January). 

General Grant is made lieutenant-general (March). 
General Sherman in his march from Chattanooga to At¬ 
lanta takes, in succession, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw 
Mountain, and Atlanta (May-November). 

The Union forces under General Grant, and the Con¬ 
federates under Lee, fight an indecisive battle at the 
Wilderness, but Grant attacks them again in the battles 
of Spottsylvania and Cold Harbor (May-July). 

The Union vessel Kearsarge captures and sinks the 
Confederate vessel Alabama (June). 

Early begins his raid in the Shenandoah Valley (July). 
The Federals under Farragut capture Mobile Bay 
(August). 

Grant sends General Sheridan against Early. 

The Federals under Sheridan win the battle of Win¬ 
chester (September). 


334 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Nevada is admitted to the Union as the thirty-sixth 
state (October). 

President Lincoln is reelected (November). 

The Federals under Thomas attack and defeat the Con¬ 
federates under Hood at Nashville (December). 

The Confederates are defeated by a Union naval fleet 
under Admiral Porter at Fort Fisher (December). 
General Sherman reaches the sea and captures Savan¬ 
nah (December). 

1865. Sherman marches northward through the Carolinas and 
secures possession of Charleston, Columbia, Bentonville, 
Averysboro, and Raleigh. 

The Federals under Grant defeat the Confederates 
under Lee in the battles of Five Forks and Petersburg, 
and finally compel them to evacuate Richmond. 

The Confederate forces under General Lee surrender 
to General Grant at Appomattox Court House and lay 
down their arms (April 9). 

President Lincoln is assassinated by Wilkes Booth 
(April 14). 


PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION AND 

EXPANSION 


CHAPTER XXXII 
ANDREW JOHNSON’S ADMINISTRATION 

REPUBLICAN—1865-1869 

432. The Successor of Lincoln. Within three hours after 
the death of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, the Vice-president, 
quietly assumed the duties of the presidency. Born in North 
Carolina, he moved to Tennessee, where he had served as Gov¬ 
ernor, Representative, and Senator. In the election of 1859 he 
had been chosen Vice-president of the country. 

In marry respects the life of Johnson was like that of Lincoln. 
He was of humble birth, and had risen to high posts of public 
trust. Johnson had many noble qualities, but he lacked Lin¬ 
coln’s tact and genius for understanding and persuading men. 
Although he held strict views of states’ rights, he had no sym¬ 
pathy with the secession movement. When Tennessee seceded, 
he ignored the action of his state, remaining at his post in the 
Senate. 

433. Problems of Reconstruction and Reunion. Now that 
the war was over, the government was confronted with three 
serious problems: (1) the status of the seceded states, (2) the 
treatment of the secession leaders, and (3) the care of the millions 
of emancipated slaves. In 1863, when the Union armies occupied 
large portions of the Confederacy, President Lincoln had issued 
a “ Proclamation of Amnesty.” In this, he extended full 
pardon and restoration of property rights to all persons (with the 
exception of the leaders of secession) who would take an oath to 

335 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


support the Constitution, the Acts of Congress, and the Eman¬ 
cipation Proclamation. 

Johnson’s views on the problem of reconstruction were prac¬ 
tically the same as those of Lincoln. During the first eight 
months of his presidency, he pushed forward the work of recon¬ 
struction. Since Congress was not 
in session, he had his own way in 
dealing with the southern states. 
He raised the blockade, opening 
the southern ports to the world’s 
trade. He appointed a provisional 
governor in each of the Confed¬ 
erate states. Under the direction 
of these governors, the qualified 
white voters held conventions 
which declared secession null and 
void; repudiated the Confederate 
war debt, promising never to pay 
it; and abolished slavery. They 
also reorganized the state govern¬ 
ments. The legislatures then rat¬ 
ified the Thirteenth Amendment. 
When this was done, President Johnson recognized the state 
governments, and declared them to be entitled to representation 
in Congress (December, 1865). 

434. The Thirteenth Amendment. The Emancipation 
Proclamation had abolished slavery in the seceded states only. 
In the southern states that had not joined the Confederacy, 
the right to buy and keep slaves still existed, although some of 
these states—Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri—had already 
begun the work of freeing their slaves. The Thirteenth Amend¬ 
ment was introduced into Congress, providing that slavery be 
forever abolished in every state of the Union. After much 
excitement the Amendment was passed by Congress. In 
December, 1865, when three-fourths of the states had ratified 



ANDREW JOHNSON 




Andrew Johnson’s administration 


337 


the Amendment, it became a part of the Constitution. (See 
Appendix: Constitution, Article XIII.) 

435. The Black Codes. After the Emancipation Proclamation 
was issued, thousands of negroes left the plantations of the South. 
Many of them, becoming good-for-nothing tramps who refused 
to work, wandered from place to place, or flocked to the large 
cities where they lived by begging 
or stealing. Several southern legis¬ 
latures, alarmed at this condition, 
passed very severe laws to control 
the negroes. These laws, which 
practically introduced a new form 
of involuntary servitude, angered 
the North and hindered the work 
of reconstruction. 

436. Reconstruction Policy of 
Congress. When Congress met in 
1865, it overthrew Johnson’s work, 
denied southern members their 
seats, and appointed a joint com¬ 
mittee of the two Houses to con¬ 
sider the subject of reconstruc¬ 
tion. This action aroused the in¬ 
dignation of President Johnson and brought about a bitter 
quarrel between him and Congress. The ruling party (Repub¬ 
lican) adopted the view that the southern states, as a result of 
their secession, had deprived themselves of all civil government, 
and had forfeited their rights of self-government. Radical views 
against the southern states were held by Senator Charles Sumner 
and Representative Thadcleus Stevens, who maintained that 
the southern states, by gn act of rebellion, had destroyed their 
existence as self-governing commonwealths. They advocated 
the holding of the southern states as conquered provinces to be 
governed as territorial dependencies under the sole power of 
Congress. 



THADDEUS STEVENS 






338 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


The President declared that the states never had been out 
of the Union and never had lost any of their rights. He vetoed 
the Freedman’s Bureau Bill, which virtually made the emanci¬ 
pated negroes wards of the nation. Johnson also vetoed the 
Civil Rights Bill, by which the negro was granted all the rights of 
citizenship, except the right to vote. Congress promptly passed 
the bill by a two-thirds majority over his veto. 

437. The Fourteenth Amendment. In 1866 Congress passed 
the Fourteenth Amendment which made citizenship the consti¬ 
tutional right of all persons born or naturalized in the United 
States, and imposed a penalty of loss of representation upon any 
state which denied to male citizens of the proper age the right to 
vote. It further excluded from Federal and State offices the 
southern leaders and made impossible the paying of the Con¬ 
federate debt and compensation for slaves. All the southern 
States rejected the Amendment except Tennessee, which was 
immediately allowed representation in Congress. 

The ill-feeling between Congress and the President kept 
steadily increasing. Neither tried to please the other. To 
make matters still worse, Johnson, on a trip through the country, 
made speeches in many of the western cities, denouncing Con¬ 
gress and its plan of action, calling it a “factious, domineering, 
tyrannical Congress,” “a Congress violently breaking up the 
Union.” His intemperate and undignified language weakened 
rather than strengthened his cause, and disgraced his high office. 

When the elections of 1866 came the country gave the Radicals 
a two-thirds majority in Congress. This enabled them to pro¬ 
ceed with their severe plans of reconstructing the southern 
States. 

438. Congressional Reconstruction. The policy now adopted 
toward the South was one of great rigor. The state govern¬ 
ments established by President Johnson were declared to be pro¬ 
visional, and the ten states were divided into five military dis¬ 
tricts, each under a general of the army as military governor. 
These governors were instructed to summon a constitutional con- 


Andrew Johnson’s administration 


339 


vention in each state, chosen by male citizens twenty-one years 
of age without regard to their race. Everyone disqualified from 
holding office by the proposed Fourteenth Amendment was also 
disqualified from voting. This meant that a large number of 
white men could not vote, while all the negroes were allowed to 
do so. It was further provided that the new constitutions must 
grant negro suffrage permanently. Only when these constitu¬ 
tions had been ratified by the same group of voters which had 
elected the convention and they had been approved by Congress, 
and when the first legislature under them had ratified the Four¬ 
teenth Amendment, would the states be restored to all their 
rights in the Union. 

By June, 1868, seven of the seceded states had carried out these 
conditions and had been restored. 

In 1869 Congress adopted the Fifteenth Amendment, which 
provided that no citizen of the United States qould be denied the 
right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude. (See Appendix: The Constitution, Article XV.) 
It, together with the Fourteenth Amendment, was made a con¬ 
dition for the readmission of Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi, and 
Texas, the states that were belated in their reconstruction. By 
January, 1871, these four states had accepted the Amendments, 
and the work of reconstruction was complete. 

439. The Tenure of Office Act. In accordance with the 
custom of his predecessors since Jackson’s time, Johnson re¬ 
moved many Republican officeholders who were not in sympathy 
with his administration. This occasioned the Tenure of Office 
Act, by which every officer appointed with the advice and con¬ 
sent of the Senate should continue to hold his position until 
the senators agreed to his removal. 

440. Johnson Is Impeached. In 1864 Johnson suspended 
Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary of War, and 
appointed General Grant to succeed him. The Senate refused 
to agree to this. A little later the President again removed 
Stanton and appointed General Lorenzo Thomas in his stead. 


340 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


The House hereupon impeached the President for eleven “high 
crimes and misdemeanors,” which, summarized, were his viola¬ 
tion of the Tenure of Office Act in the removal of Secretary 

Stanton; his public speeches 
against Congress, which decreased 
the confidence of the people in the 
legislative body of the nation; and 
his opposition to the Reconstruc¬ 
tion Act. 

Thus, for the first and only time 
in our history, was the President 
called to be tried by the Senate. 
The trial continued for two 
months, with the members of the 
Senate acting as judges and Chief 
Justice Chase presiding. At the 
test vote thirty-five senators voted 
guilty and nineteen not guilty. 
Consequently, there was one vote 
lacking for a two-thirds majority 
in the Senate, and the President escaped conviction. 

441. The French in Mexico. While the United States was 
engrossed in civil strife, France, Great Britain, and Spain agreed 
to force Mexico to pay the debts due to these countries. Great 
Britain and Spain, however, soon withdrew their demands. 
Napoleon III, Emperor of France, determined to establish a 
French empire in Mexico. By 1864 the Mexican government 
was overthrown and Maximilian, archduke of Austria (a brother 
of the Emperor of Austria), was made Emperor of Mexico. 
Though the United States considered this an open violation of 
the Monroe Doctrine, she could at that time only protest against 
it. Immediately after the war, however (1865), Secretary 
Seward demanded that the French withdraw from Mexico. 
At the same time Sheridan was sent to Texas with fifty thousand 
veterans. The French ruler now withdrew his army. Maxi- 




Andrew Johnson’s administration 


341 


milian, however, remained, but soon after was taken prisoner, 
tried by court martial, and shot by Mexican authorities, who 
reestablished the republic. 

442. The Submarine Telegraph. After several unsuccessful 
attempts, Cyrus W. Field finally laid the first Atlantic cable, 
which established telegraphic communication between the Old 
and the New World (1866). His first attempted Atlantic cable 
(1858) extended from Heart’s Content, Newfoundland, to 
Valencia Bay, Ireland. It had 
carried, however, only about 
three hundred messages when 
it ceased to work. His second 
attempt (1865) also failed, the 
cable parting in mid-ocean. 

With the help of the steamship 
Great Eastern he eventually laid 
a successful cable. 

443. A New State—The 
Purchase of Alaska. During 
Johnson’s administration, Ne¬ 
braska was admitted (1867), 
over the President’s veto, as 
the thirty-seventh state, just 
in time for it to take part in the 
presidential election of 1868. 

Through the diplomacy of 
Secretary Seward, the United 
States (1867) concluded a treaty with the Russian government 
by which it secured possession of the vast territory of Alaska 
(over five hundred ninety thousand square miles) for $7,200,000. 
By this purchase another European power was removed from the 
American continent. The carrying out of the Monroe Doctrine 
was thus rendered easier. From the time of its discovery and 
exploration by Russians under Vitus Bering (1728-1741) until it 
was ceded to the United States, Alaska had been known as 



AN ALASKAN TRADING POST 





342 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


“Russian-America.” Secretary Seward was loudly denounced 
for paying such a large sum of money for what was believed to be 
only a large field of icebergs. Since then, however, Alaska has 
come to be known as wonderfully rich in minerals, forests, 
fisheries, and furs. 

444. The Second Plenary Council. The Second Plenary 
Council of the Church in the United States convened (1866) 
at Baltimore and was presided over by Archbishop Spalding 
as Delegate Apostolic. Seven archbishops, thirty-nine bishops, 
two mitred abbots, and one hundred twenty theologians took 
part in its proceedings. It enacted measures providing for the 
greater uniformity of discipline and the general well-ordering of 
the affairs of the Church in America. The session continued for 
two weeks and closed with a scene of solemn grandeur, at which 
President Johnson was present. 

Questions 

1. What did Johnson do to help the southern states? Read the Thirteenth 
Amendment to the constitution. What was the attitude of Congress toward 
Johnson’s plans? What did Congress do to the southern states? Read the 
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and be able to give the substance of 
each. 

2. What is impeachment? Why did Congress impeach the President? 

3. How did the United States uphold the Monroe Doctrine during this 
period? What new territory was added to the United States? How was it 
obtained? What resources has it? 

4. When and where was the second Plenary Council held? Who presided? 

Theme Topic 

Write a short theme on Cyrus W. Field. 


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COSTDJESTAL EXPANSION 


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CHAPTER XXXIII 


ULYSSES S. GRANT’S ADMINISTRATION 

REPUBLICAN— 1869-1877 

445. Grant Elected. At the election of 1868, the Republican 
candidate, Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-1885), of Civil War 
fame, was elected President. He was a native of Mount Pleas¬ 
ant, Ohio. He spent four years at West Point, and later served 
in the Mexican and Civil Wars. Although Grant was absolutely 
honest in the discharge of his duties, his administration as 
President was not wholly successful, owing largely to the fact 
that some of his advisers proved most unworthy. 

446. Three Classes of People Control the South. As a con¬ 
sequence of the reconstruction policy of Congress, there was a 
complete revolution in the political conditions in the South. 
The party formerly in control was now devoid of power, and the 
government was in hands of negroes, a certain class of white 
men called “scalawags,” who exerted an influence for evil over 
ignorant negroes, * and northern politicians called “carpet¬ 
baggers,” who were said to carry all their possessions in carpet¬ 
bags. 

Under this new rule, known in history as the period of carpet¬ 
bag government (1868-1876), public affairs were conducted in 
a shameful and corrupt manner. Heavy taxes were levied on 
property owned chiefly by the disfranchised whites. Millions 
of dollars were wasted or stolen, and the states were plunged 
heavily in debt. Ignorant and vicious negroes filled the offices 
which once had been occupied by brilliant southern statesmen. 
The negroes, tasting power for the first time, sometimes used it 
to obtain vengeance upon their former masters. 

343 


344 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Stung by the overbearing conduct of the negroes and carpet¬ 
baggers, the southern whites began a determined effort to regain 
control of affairs and to save their governments from negro 
rule. Peaceable means were at first resorted to, but, when 

these proved futile, secret 
societies were formed, 
which, through mysteri¬ 
ous warnings and mid¬ 
night raids conducted by 
white-robed horsemen, 
attempted to frighten the 
negroes from voting or 
holding office. These or¬ 
ganizations, controlled at 
first by the better class of 
southern people, fell into 
the hands of the rougher 
and more lawless element, 
and a reign of terror be¬ 
gan. 

447. The Ku Klux Klan, 

The most famous of these' 
secret organizations was 
the Ku Klux Klan. This 
was at first a sort of 
police, originated by the 
young men of Tennessee 
(1866) as a means of keep¬ 
ing the negroes under control by working upon their super¬ 
stitions. But it spread throughout the South and before long 
was committing acts of extreme violence and outrage. 

448. The Force Bills. In 1870 and 1872 Congress passed the 
“Force Bills,” which provided severe penalties for anyone who 
tried to prevent the negroes from voting. The polls and election 
of members to Congress were placed under the control of United 


GENERAL U. S. GRANT 




ULYSSES S. GRANT’S ADMINISTRATION 


345 


States officers and courts; and the President was authorized 
to make use of the United States troops to maintain order. 

In the next few years troops were frequently called upon to 
put down riots, and by 1872 the evils of the Ku Klux Klan had 
been generally suppressed. Meanwhile, however, the southern 
whites (Democrats) managed to defeat the Republicans at the 
polls, and by 1876 had obtained control of all their state govern¬ 
ments. 

449. Grant Is Reelected. In the election of 1872 Grant 
defeated Horace Greeley, the candidate of the Liberal Republi¬ 
cans and Democrats combined, by an overwhelming major¬ 
ity. 

450. The Alabama Claims. Meanwhile, war had broken out 
between Germany and France. England, fearing she might 
be drawn into the conflict, wished to assure herself of the friend¬ 
ship of the United States. Congress seized the opportunity 
to take up anew what was known as the Alabama Claims against 
Great Britain. These claims arose from the losses to American 
shipping caused by the Alabama and other Confederate cruisers 
fitted out in British ports during the Civil War. England, 
though at first unwilling even to consider these claims, now asked 
for a commission to settle the differences. The commission, con¬ 
sisting of five members, named by the governments of the United 
States, England, Italy, Switzerland, and Brazil met in Geneva, 
Switzerland (1872), and decided on what is known as the “Gen¬ 
eva Award.” By this award, Great Britain paid the United 
States for damage done our commerce during the Civil War the 
sum of fifteen million five hundred thousand dollars in gold. 
This event marked the beginning of the practice of settling inter¬ 
national differences by arbitration rather than by war. 

451. The First Transcontinental Railroad. The Civil War 
had shown the necessity of some better means of communica¬ 
tion between the East and the West than the Oregon and Santa 
Fe trails. Two companies were soon formed for the purpose 
of constructing a transcontinental railroad—the Union Pacific 


346 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


company, which worked from Omaha westward, and the Central 
Pacific, which worked from San Francisco eastward. The 
government gave to the companies both financial assistance 
and vast tracts of land along the route. The workmen from 
both directions finally met at Ogden, Utah (1869), where the 
last spike, made of gold, was driven with great ceremony. The 

Union Pacific Rail¬ 
road, the first com¬ 
mercial link between 
the Atlantic and Pa¬ 
cific, was completed. 

452. Financial 
Panic of 1873. Great 
panics occurred after 
the war of 1812, also 
in 1837, and again in 
1857. Very similar 
was the financial crash 
of 1873. It was preceded by a period of general prosperity. 
People wanted to get rich easily and quickly. They undertook 
great business enterprises on borrowed capital. Railroad mile¬ 
age grew faster than the population. Fortunes were made by 
some and lost by others in buying tracts of land in unsettled 
regions and increasing their value by extending railroads through 
them. Meanwhile, the supply of money in the country de¬ 
creased; prices fell suddenly; and with the failure of the rich 
banking house of Jay Cooke & Co., of New York City, a terrible 
financial panic began which swept over the entire country, leav¬ 
ing thousands of business enterprises in ruins and millions of poor 
people either without support or with greatly reduced wages. 
Only after five or six years did the country recover from the 
effects of this panic. 

453. The Resumption of Specie Payment. The large issue 
of paper money had driven gold and silver out of circulation. 
In 1875 Congress passed a bill which provided that, on January 



JOINING THE RAILROADS 







ULYSSES S. GRANT’S ADMINISTRATION 347 

1, 1879, the government resume “Specie Payment,” that is, 
make the paper dollar equal to a dollar in gold. A reserve of 
considerably more than one hundred million dollars was in the 
treasury for the redemption of paper money. 

454. Gold Coin, Standard of Value. In 1873 Congress 
dropped the silver dollar from our coinage and ordered that 
nothing be coined for home use but gold, small silver pieces, 
and “coppers.” This left the gold coin the only legal standard 
of value. The discovery of rich silver mines in Nevada and 
elsewhere had so reduced the value of the metal that many 
European nations stopped coining it. The new coinage act 
ordered the coinage of some silver called “trade dollars,” not 
for use at home, but in our trade with China, in competition 
with Spanish and Mexican dollars. 

455. The Weather Bureau. In 1870 Congress made an 
appropriation for the establishment of a Weather Bureau at 
Washington, to be connected by telegraphic communication 
with stations of observation all over the country By means 
of this bureau, forecasts of storms, dangerous winds, rains, cold 
waves, and heavy frosts are made with considerable accuracy. 
This bureau has saved billions of dollars to farmers and to 
shipping interests, and has prevented the loss of thousands of 
lives by displaying its warning signals along the coast. The 
Weather Bureau was originally a branch of the War Depart¬ 
ment, but since 1891 it has been under the control of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture. 

456. Indian Affairs. The Indian affairs of the country at 
this period were involved in difficulties. President Grant (1870) 
divided the Indians among the various religious denominations 
of the country, but did not give a single superintendency to 
Catholics. Only comparatively few agencies were confided to 
the Catholic Church, the first and ever-faithful protector of the 
Indian. Thus the Catholic Indians of the United States, many 
of whose forefathers had been converted by Catholic mission¬ 
aries long before Protestants set foot on our soil, were handed 


348 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


over to Protestant denominations. Naturally, Grant’s action 
only increased the difficulties. 

The Modoc Indians refused to be removed from their hunting 
grounds in California to their reservation in Oregon. As a 
result war ensued (1872). In the midst of a peace conference 
held between the Indians and the white agents, the Indians 
treacherously slew General Canby and Dr. Thomas. The 
Modocs were then besieged and forced to surrender. Their 
chief, Captain Jack, and other prominent leaders were exe¬ 
cuted. 

The Sioux Indians had been assigned a reservation in the 
Black Hill country, which comprised parts of Dakota and 
Wyoming. When a portion of this country was invaded by 
gold seekers, Congress canceled the Indian title to that part 
of it. This act angered the Indians, who, under their famous 
chief, Sitting Bull, became hostile. United States troops were 
sent to subdue them, In June, 1876, a force of nearly three 
hundred men under General George A. Custer was massacred 
at Little Big Horn River by nine thousand Sioux. Sitting Bull 
then retreated into English territory, but kept menacing the 
western country till the Canadian authorities commanded him 
to abandon all hostile plans or leave their country. He finally 
sued for peace and returned to the United States. 

457. Destructive Fires. A great fire broke out in Chicago 
in Oc'tober (1871). It raged for two days, laying waste many 
square miles, including the business portion of the city. Two 
hundred million dollars’ worth of property was destroyed, one 
hundred thousand persons were rendered homeless, and two 
hundred and fifty lives were lost. Contributions from nearly 
all parts of the world, amounting to more than half a million 
dollars, were sent for the relief of the homeless people. 

The following year the business section of Boston was also 
destroyed by fire, which swept away eighty million dollars’ 
worth of property. 


ULYSSES S. GRANT’S ADMINISTRATION 


349 


At about the time of the Chicago disaster, fearful forest fires, 
sweeping through the timber districts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
and Michigan, consumed entire villages and caused great loss 
of life and property. 

458. The Centennial Exhibition—A New State. In 1876 the 

hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence 
was celebrated by a centen¬ 
nial exhibition at Philadel¬ 
phia, in which all the 
civilized nations of the 
world took part. The Cen¬ 
tennial Exhibition revealed 
to the world the richness 
and variety of our natural 
productions and the supe¬ 
riority of the United States 
over all other countries in 
useful inventions. The most 
remarkable novelties exhib¬ 
ited were the telephone, in¬ 
vented by Graham Bell of 
Massachusetts, and the ap¬ 
plication of the electric 
light. 

Colorado, which became 

. CARDINAL MCCLOSKEY 

known as the Centennial 

state,” entered the Union as the thirty-eighth state, in 1876. 

459. The First American Cardinal. During Grant’s admin¬ 
istration occurred one of the most memorable events in the 
history of the Church of the United States—Pius IX, of blessed 
memory, gave the American Catholics their first Cardinal in the 
person of the Venerable John McCloskey, the successor of Arch¬ 
bishop Hughes in the Archiepiscopal See of New York. His 
solemn investiture took place in the unfinished St. Patrick’s 






350 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Cathedral (April 27, 1875), which edifice His Eminence later 
solemnly dedicated to the service of God (May, 1877). 

The last public act of Cardinal McCloskey is one for which 
the American Church will ever feel deeply grateful. The 
Italian government’s act of spoliation of ecclesiastical property 
threatened also (1884) to expropriate the American College at 
Rome. The Cardinal at once laid the matter before President 
Arthur, appealing for the protection of the institution as the 
property of American citizens. The Secretary of State, through 
the American minister, brought the case to the notice of the 
Italian government, and the college was saved. 

Questions 

i 

1. What three groups of people now controlled the South? Describe the 
“carpet-bag” government. How did the southerners combat this rule? What 
did the Force Bills do? 

2. What was the Alabama Affair? Why was it significant? What is 
meant by arbitration? 

3. Describe the construction of the first transcontinental railway. 

4. Why did a financial panic occur in 1873? What is meant by “Specie 
Payment”? Why did Congress drop the silver dollar and make gold the 
standard? 

5. When was the Weather Bureau established and what is its value? 

6. What caused the Modocs and the Sioux to rebel? 

7. What were the results of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia? 

8. Who was the first American Cardinal? How many Cardinals have we 
today? 

Theme Topics 

1. Write a theme of two or three paragraphs describing the joining of 
the railroads. (See picture on page 346.) 

2. Cardinal McCloskey. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES’S ADMINISTRATION 
REPUBLICAN— 1877-1881 

460. Hayes Elected. Twice in our history (1800, 1824) the 
electoral college failed to choose a president, but only once 
has a president been chosen by a joint high commission. In 
1876 a Democratic majority seemed to sweep the country. But 
in three of the southern states—Louisiana, South Carolina, and 
Florida—where carpet-bag rule 
was still in existence, there were 
rival state governments and gov¬ 
ernors. These states sent two 
sets of votes to the president of 
the Senate to be counted. The 
Senate, being Republican, ac¬ 
cepted the Republican returns, 
while the House, being Demo¬ 
cratic, considered the Demo¬ 
cratic returns as the true ones. 

Since Tilden had one hundred 
eighty-four undisputed votes, 
the counting of one vote from 
the states in dispute would make 
him President. On the other 
hand, all the votes from the dis¬ 
puted states would be required to give Hayes a majority. To 
settle the difficulty, Congress referred the matter to a joint high 
commission composed of five senators, five representatives, and 
five justices of the Supreme Court. Eight of these commissioners 

351 







352 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


were Republicans and seven were Democrats. By a vote of 
eight to seven the commission decided Hayes elected. The 
Democrats were naturally dissatisfied, but the bitterness aroused 
by the contest soon subsided, and Hayes was peacefully in¬ 
augurated. 

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), a native of Ohio, was a 
graduate of Kenyon College in his own state and of the Harvard 
Law School. During the war he entered the Union army, in 
which he rose to the rank of brigadier-general. He served two 
terms as congressman, after which he was three times chosen 
governor of his state. Owing to the dispute over his election, 
he entered, upon his office under very unfavorable conditions, 
but he soon proved himself qualified to lead the nation during 
the time of peace and progress upon which it was entering. 

461. The Solid South. President Hayes, wishing to rees¬ 
tablish the friendship formerly existing between the North and 
South, withdrew the Federal troops from the southern states. 
The carpet-bag governments, being unable to stand without 
military support, were overthrown by the southern Democrats, 
who at once obtained control of these states. From this time 
forward the white vote of the South assumed control and the 
negro ceased to govern. The epoch of reconstruction had finally 
come to a close (1877). 

462. New Industrial Conditions. During the war, when 
people had been forced to do business on a large scale, they 
learned from experience that there was more to be gained in 
united action than in competition. After the war this fact led to 
the formation of corporations, that is, the combining of the capi¬ 
tal and interests of several men in one enterprise. Many of these 
corporations united so as to make one great company, known 
as a “ trust.” The great railroad lines were combined under 
the management of a few companies. The oil, sugar, cotton, 
tobacco, steel, and numerous other industries eventually came 
under the control of trusts, which crowded out the smaller 
companies. Large numbers of women and children were em- 


RUTHERFORD B. HAYES ? S ADMINISTRATION 


353 


ployed in factories, while a reduction of wages and an increase 
in the duties and hours of labor for employees followed. The 
result of the new industrial conditions was a general feeling of 
discontent among the laboring classes. 

463. Labor Unions. In order to check the aggressiveness ol 
corporations, which threatened to oppress the toiling masses, 
labor unions, which had existed in our country even before 
the Constitution, now became more numerous and wide-spread. 



EADS BRIDGE 

The two primary objects of most labor unions were the increase 
of wages and the decrease of hours of labor. The demands of 
the unions led to organized struggles between labor and capital, 
which brought about strikes, “ black lists,” and boycotts. The 
“black lists” contained names of the labor union leaders to 
whom the employers refused to give employment. 

464. Eads and the Mississippi Jetties. During Hayes's ad¬ 
ministration an achievement of vast importance to the South 
was accomplished (1875-1879) by Captain B. Eads of St. Louis, 
the builder of the ironclads used during the war and of the 





354 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


great steel arch bridge spanning the river at St. Louis. Large 
quantities of mud and sand, carried seaward by the Mississippi- 
Missouri, gradually filled up the mouths of the Mississippi, thus 
preventing the passage of heavy steamers. Both the United 
States and the Louisiana governments had spent millions of 
dollars in repeated attempts to remove the bars and deepen the 
channel. Captain Eads, after gr£at opposition, was finally 
allowed by Congress to try the “jetty system” used in the 
low countries of Europe. By means of thousands of bundles 
of faggots he narrowed the channel so as to increase the force 
of the current to such a degree as to sweep out its own channel, 
thus making it possible for large steamers to pass up to New 
Orleans or out to sea without difficulty. The success of this 
gigantic undertaking helped to make New Orleans by far the 
largest and most important commercial city of the South. 

465. The Bland-Allison Bill. Owing to the discovery of new 
and rich silver mines in some of the western states and to popular 
demand for the coinage of silver, Congress decided to remonetize 
silver by providing that a certain amount should be purchased 
and coined each month. In 1878 the Bland-Allison Bill was 
passed. It provided that our government should buy not less 
than two million nor more than four million dollars’ worth of 
silver bullion each month to be coined into silver dollars. 

466. The Resumption of Specie Payment. According to the 
act (1875) providing for the resumption of specie payment, the 
national treasury was fully prepared at the appointed time 
(January, 1879) to exchange the people’s greenbacks at par 
value for gold. Even those very persons who had been hoard¬ 
ing legal tender notes for that express purpose, now showed 
no desire to obtain gold when it was worth no more than silver 
or greenbacks, because paper money was so much more con¬ 
venient to handle. Since 1879 our paper money has been equal 
to gold or silver, and the government has ever since held to the 
policy of maintaining the three kinds of money on an equality. 


RUTHERFORD B. HAYES’S ADMINISTRATION 


355 


Questions 

1. How was Hayes elected? What did he do to help friendly relations 
between the North and the South? What was the result politically in the 
South? 

2. How had business men learned the value of organization? What is a 
corporation? A trust? What led to organizations of labor men? What was 
their purpose? What is a strike? 

3. What did Eads do? 

4. What was the Bland-Allison Bill? What does “remonetize” mean? 

Theme Topics 

1. Write a short theme on Rutherford B. Hayes. 

2. Make a list of the things accorrfplished by the building of the Eads 
bridge. 


CHAPTER XXXV 


• THE GARFIELD-ARTHUR ADMINISTRATION 

REPUBLICAN—1881-1885 

467. Garfield Elected. At the election of 1880 the Republican 
candidate, James A. Garfield (1831-1881) was elected. He was 
a native of Ohio where he had grown up in a log cabin. He 
became a lawyer, and after filling a professorship at Hiram 
College, Ohio, he entered the Union army, attaining the rank 

of major-general. This position 
he resigned to serve as represen¬ 
tative in the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives until 1880, when he 
was elected Senator. Before the 
time of entering upon his duties 
as Senator, he was, however, 
elected President. While in pub¬ 
lic life he exhibited administra¬ 
tive talent of high order. 

468. Garfield Is Assassinated. 
Although the country was at 
peace and general prosperity pre¬ 
vailed at the beginning of Gar¬ 
field’s administration, the new 
President became at once in¬ 
volved in factional troubles due 
to the Spoils System. He had been in office only four months 
when he was shot (July 2, 1881) by a disappointed office-seeker, 
Charles Guiteau. He died September 19, mourned by the whole 
nation. 



356 






THE GARFIELD-ARTHUR ADMINISTRATION 


357 


469. Arthur Assumes the Office. Vice-president Chester A. 
Arthui (1830-1886) took the presidential oath at his home in 
New York only a few hours after Garfield’s death. The new 
President was a native of Vermont. He became a lawyer, and 
took pait in the Civil War, but he was little known by the 
country outside of New York. Fears were entertained that 
the consequences which followed the succession of Vice-presi¬ 
dents Tyler and Johnson might be repeated. But, fortunately, 
Arthur pioved himself an able, fearless, and impartial executive. 

470. The Civil Service Reform 
Act—The Pendleton Act. The 
Spoils System had been produc¬ 
ing its evil results for more than 
half a century, and a great many 
political scandals could be traced 
directly to it. Appointments to 
Federal positions had been made 
as rewards to political workers 
regardless of their ability or 
training. In 1883 Congress 
passed the Pendleton Civil Serv¬ 
ice Act which provided that ap¬ 
plicants for certain public offices 
should be examined by civil serv¬ 
ice examiners appointed by the 
President, and that appoint¬ 
ments and promotions should be made from the lists of those 
who had passed the examinations. President Arthur applied 
this system at once to the departments at Washington and to all 
custom houses and post offices where more than fifty clerks were 
employed. It has since been extended to other offices. 

471. Centennials. In 1881 the nation celebrated by a great 
naval display, the hundredth anniversary of the British sur¬ 
render (1781) at Yorktown. During the same year a large 
cotton exhibition was held at Atlanta, Georgia, to mark the 



CHESTER A. ARTHUR 





358 


A HISTORY OF TPIE UNITED STATES 


hundredth anniversary of the first exportation of cotton. In 
1884 another and much greater cotton exhibition was held at 
New Orleans, the largest cotton market in America. These 
exhibitions revealed the vast changes which had taken place 
in the South since the close of the Civil War. A new South, 
with thousands of manufacturing and mining enterprises and 
thousands of miles of railroads, had developed. Where in 1784 
one bale of cotton was exported from Charleston, South Car¬ 
olina, millions of bales were now exported. The white man 

took part with the 
black in common 
labor and trade enter¬ 
prises, while the freed- 
man now received 
compensation for his 
labor and enjoyed a 
home of his own. 
Great numbers of 
schools were main¬ 
tained for the blacks 
and whites, though 
the two races strictly 
avoided, as is still the case, all social intercourse. 

472. Restriction of Chinese Immigration. Congress had re¬ 
peatedly attempted, without success, to exclude the Chinese 
from the country. In 1880 a treaty was negotiated with the 
Chinese government by which Chinese immigration might be* 
stopped by the United States. Consequently, in 1882 Congress 
passed an act forbidding Chinese immigration for a period of 
ten years. This enactment was soon followed by another and 
more stringent law in 1885. 

473. The Brooklyn Bridge. One of the events during Arthur’s 
administration which proved the rapid progress of the country 
was the completion (1883) of the great Brooklyn suspension 
bridge. It spanned the East River, connecting New York City 



PICKING COTTON 









THE GARFIELD-ARTHUR ADMINISTRATION 


359 


and Brooklyn. In design and construction this bridge is a 
most stupendous engineering work. 

Questions 

1. How did Arthur become president? Review the Spoils System in con¬ 
nection with Andrew Jackson. How did this system lead to the death of 
Garfield? How was the system reformed? 

2. What did the Centennials in the South show? 

3. Try to find out why the Chinese immigration was restricted. 

Theme Topics 

1. Describe a cotton-picking scene in the South. (See picture on page 358.) 

2. Write a brief theme on either Garfield or Arthur. 




CHAPTER XXXVI 


GROVER CLEVELAND’S ADMINISTRATION 


DEMOCRAT—1885-1889 



474. Cleveland Elected. At the election of 1884 the Demo¬ 
crats for the first time since 1856 were victorious. Grover 
Cleveland (1837-1908) was elected. He was a native of New 
Jersey, had studied law, and entered upon its practice at Buffalo, 
New York. After serving in many local offices, he became the 

governor of the state (1883). 
Cleveland’s administration as 
President was characterized by 
singleness of purpose, economy 
of management, and the exercise 
of good judgment in public af¬ 
fairs. He adhered strictly to the 
regulations governing the Civil 
Service, although under the law 
he was not relieved from making 
a large number of appointments. 

475. The Presidential Succes¬ 
sion Law. In 1886 Congress 
enacted the Presidential Succes¬ 
sion Law, which provides for 
succession to the presidency in 
case of the death or disability 
of both the president and the vice-president. According to 
this law the members of the Cabinet, in the order of the creation 
of their offices, act as president until the disability is removed 


GROVER CLEVELAND 


360 




grover Cleveland’s administration 


361 


or a new president has been elected. The various departments 
were created in the following order: 

(1) Secretary of State, 1789; 

(2) Secretary of War, 1789; 

(3) Secretary of the Treasury, 1789; 

(4) Attorney-General, 1789; 

(5) Postmaster-General, 1789; 

(6) Secretary of the Navy, 1798; 

(7) Secretary of the Interior, 1849; 

(8) Secretary of Agriculture, 1889; 

(9) Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 1903; 

(10) Secretary of Labor, 1913 (Labor being then made a sep¬ 

arate department). 



UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP 11 TEXAS , ’ 


476. Improvement of the Navy. During the twenty years 
succeeding the Civil War our navy had been neglected and had 
become worthless. The country now felt the need of protec¬ 
tion for our commerce and for our coasts. Accordingly, Con¬ 
gress (1883) authorized the building of four steel cruisers within 
a period of eight years at an expenditure of thirty million 
dollars. This was the beginning of our present splendid navy. 













362 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


477. The Interstate Commerce Law. The railroads of the 
United States, which were doing much toward developing the 
resources of the country, and which had originally been built 
in short lines, were being rapidly consolidated into large systems 
passing through several states. The railroad companies made 
rates which, though not too high, were not uniform. In many 
instances low freight rates were granted to certain large shippers 
and to distant cities, while higher rates were collected from 
nearer cities and smaller shippers. Naturally, this discrimina¬ 
tion built up some manufacturers and ruined others. 

To remedy these abuses, Congress enacted (1887) the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Law, which provided that railroad charges 
must be just and reasonable, and that there be no unjust dis¬ 
crimination between persons or localities. The Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission, consisting first of five persons, later of seven, 
was appointed to investigate and report violations of the Act. 

478. Repeal of the Tenure of Office Act—Australian Ballot 
System. During this administration the Tenure of Office Act 
which served as a pretext for the impeachment of President 
Johnson was repealed (1887). 

Frauds and abuses in election led the public to demand a 
reform in methods of voting. Many of the states adopted the 
Australian ballot method, so called because it was first per¬ 
fected in Australia. By this system the polling of votes is secret, 
and the ballot used is an official one furnished by the govern¬ 
ment. In the course of a few years (1888-1892) it found favor 
in nearly all the states. 

479. Anarchist Movement. The year 1886 became noted for 
its many strikes and riots, the chief centers of which were 
St. Louis and Chicago. The greatest of these occurred in Chi¬ 
cago, where some forty thousand men left their employment. 
The strikers marched through the streets, and soon factories 
and workshops came to a stop. Several hundred persons, led 
by a band of anarchists, gathered at Haymarket Square and 


grover Cleveland’s administration 363 

threatened a serious riot. When the police ordered the ring¬ 
leaders to disperse, someone threw a dynamite bomb into the 
crowd, killing seven policemen and wounding many others. 
Three of the leaders were executed, two received sentences of 
life imprisonment, and one escaped sentence by suicide. 

480. The Statue of Liberty. An immense statue of bronze, 
representing “Liberty Enlightening the World,” in the form 



THE STATUE OF LIBERTY 


of a woman holding aloft a torch, was unveiled on Bedloe’s 
Island ( 1886 ) in the harbor of New York. This statue by the 
famous French sculptor Bartholdi is one hundred fifty-one feet 
high. It rests on a stone pedestal one hundred fifty-five feet 
high. The statue, erected by subscription in France, was pre¬ 
sented to the United States in commemoration of the Declaration 
of Independence. 






364 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


481. Death of Eminent Men. This administration witnessed 
the death of a number of distinguished men, among whom may 
be mentioned: The Venerable Cardinal McCloskey (1885); 
(Archbishop Gibbons of Baltimore was chosen by the reigning 
Pontiff, Leo XIII, to succeed the deceased cardinal); ex-Presi- 
dent Grant (1885); General G. B. McClellan (1885); General 
Philip Sheridan (1888). 

482. The Mills Tariff Bill. During the Civil War the tariff 
was considerably increased to raise sufficient revenue to main¬ 
tain the army and navy. This high tariff had not been reduced. 
By 1887 the government had paid all the national debt which 
was then due and had a large surplus in the Treasury. It was 
generally thought unwise to keep this money from circulation. 
President Cleveland, in his annual message, recommended that 
the surplus be reduced by decreasing the tariff. The Mills Bill, 
providing for a reduction in the tariff, was passed in the House, 
but it was defeated in the Senate. 

The tariff question became the main issue in the campaign 
of 1888. The Democrats stood for tariff for revenue only, while 
the Republicans demanded a high tariff for the protection of 
American manufactures. 


Questions 

1. What was the Presidential Succession Law? What was done during 
Cleveland’s administration to improve the navy? 

2. Why was it found necessary to pass the Interstate Commerce Law? 
Why was the Australian ballot method adopted? 

3. Who designed the Statue of Liberty? Who presented it to the United 
States, and what does it commemorate? 

4. Describe the Chicago Riot. 

5. What is meant by a tariff for revenue? A high protective tariff? 

6. Who was chosen to succeed The Venerable Cardinal McCloskey? 

Theme Topics 

1. Describe the Australian ballot system. (See the encyclopedia for further 
information.) 

2. Describe the Statue of Liberty. 


CHAPTER XXXVII 


BENJAMIN HARRISON’S ADMINISTRATION 

REPUBLICAN—1889-1893 

483. Harrison Elected. At the election of 1888, Benjamin 
Harrison, the candidate of the Republican party, was chosen 
President. At this election the Australian ballot was used for 
the first time in the choice of presidential electors. 

Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) was a native of Ohio. He 
won distinction as a lawyer, rose to the rank of brigadier- 
general in the Civil War, and was a United States Senator 
(1881-1887). As President, he surrounded himself by an able 
Cabinet, and his administration was characterized by general 
progress and a firm defense of American interests in foreign 
affairs. 

484. Important Legislation. The Republicans not only suc¬ 
ceeded in the election of the President, but they also secured 
control of both Houses of Congress. They immediately pro¬ 
ceeded to carry out their ideas in three important measures 
(1890): 

(а) The Dependent Pension Bill, which provided for a reduction 

of the surplus in the Treasury by largely increasing the 
number of Union soldiers receiving pensions, 

(б) The McKinley Bill, which raised the tariff for protective 

purposes, but authorized the President to make reci¬ 
procity agreements with others nation—that is, certain 
articles were allowed free entry into the country from 
such nations as might agree on similar concessions to 
the United States; 

( c ) The Sherman Act, which modified the Bland-Allison Bill 
by providing that the government purchase four and 

365 


366 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


one-half million ounces of silver bullion each month, pay 
for it in treasury notes which were a legal tender for all 
debts, and which were redeemable in gold or silver coin, 
keep it in the Treasury, and issue silver certificates to 
the value of the bullion. 

485. The Pan-American Congress. During Harrison’s ad¬ 
ministration a Pan-American Congress, composed of sixty-six 

delegates from the Northern, 
Southern, and Central American 
Republics, assembled (1889) in 
Washington in answer to an in¬ 
vitation by the United States. 
Questions of closer business rela¬ 
tions and better means of com¬ 
munication were discussed. 
Secretary Blaine, as president of 
the conference, exercised great 
influence. A Bureau of Ameri¬ 
can Republics was established 
for the prompt collection and 
distribution of commercial in¬ 
formation concerning the Latin 
American countries, and a reso- 

BENJAMIN HARRISON . 7 

lution was passed recommending 
that the republics of North, South, and Central America settle 
by. arbitration all disputes and difficulties that might arise 
among them. 

486. Trouble with Italy. In New Orleans (1891), some 
Italians were brought to trial for the murder of the chief of 
police, but in spite of positive evidence were acquitted. The 
people, believing that the jury had been bribed or intimidated, 
broke into the jail and put to death some of the Italians. Three 
of these men were citizens of Italy, and that country demanded 
an indemnity. Our government finally agreed to pay twenty- 
five thousand dollars toward the support of the families of 





benjamin Harrison’s administration 367 

those who had been killed. Thus peaceful relations with Italy 
were restored. 

487. Trouble with Chile. Another quite complicated affair 
occurred in Chile (1891). On the occasion of a civil war in that 
country, our minister failed to preserve neutrality. An angered 
Chilean mob attacked a number of American sailors, killing 
two and wounding eighteen. The United States sternly de¬ 
manded satisfaction, whereupon Chile, disavowing the act, 
promptly offered and paid an indemnity of seventy-five thousand 
dollars to the families of the murdered and wounded. 

In the negotiations with Italy and Chile, Blaine, the able 
Secretary of State, showed great skill and prudence. 

488. The Seal Fishery Question. After the purchase of 
Alaska (1867) the United States assumed entire control of the 
seal fisheries in Bering Sea. England, who claimed that the 
jurisdiction of the United States did not extend beyond a three- 
mile limit, encouraged the Canadians in sealing outside of that 
boundary. Matters were brought to a crisis when our cruisers 
began to attack and confiscate (1886) the Canadian seal vessels. 
The trouble was adjusted by a board of arbitrators, who met 
at Paris (1893). This board decided that the United States 
had no jurisdiction over the seal fisheries beyond the three- 
mile limit, but that both nations might join in protecting the 
seals in the open water to prevent their extermination. This 
adjustment of the difficulty was another triumph of arbitration. 

489. Oklahoma Territory Opened—Six New States Admitted. 
Shortly after Harrison’s inauguration, the United States pur¬ 
chased Oklahoma, which then formed a part of Indian Terri¬ 
tory, from the Creek and Seminole Indians. To prevent un¬ 
lawful speculation, the President issued a proclamation for¬ 
bidding entrance into the territory before noon of April 12, 
1889. About fifty thousand people called “boomers” gathered 
on the border, and at the first blast of the bugle rushed into 
the “promised land.” Then began the scramble for selecting 
lands from the two million acres which were thrown open to 


368 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


settlement. Cities and towns and a new commonwealth were 
created in a wilderness within twenty-four hours. 

Four states entered the Union in 1889—North Dakota, South 
Dakota, Montana, and Washington. Two entered in 1890— 
Idaho and Wyoming. 

490. Two Centennials. The hundredth anniversary of the 
beginning of our government under the Constitution and the 
inauguration of Washington was commemorated by a grand 



THE OPENING OF OKLAHOMA 


three days’ celebration in New York City (April, 1889). Com¬ 
memorative exercises were held at the Sub-Treasury Building 
on Wall Street, which occupies the site of Old Federal Hall 
where Washington took the presidential oath. At the close 
of the exercises, the Most Reverend Archbishop Corrigan of 
New York gave his blessing to the assembled multitudes. 

In November of the Constitutional Centennial (1889), the 
Catholic Church of America also celebrated the first centenary 
anniversary of the establishment of its hierarchy. 


















benjamin Harrison’s administration 


369 


491. The First Catholic Lay Congress. The celebration of 
the centennials of the inauguration of Washington as the first 
President of the nation, and the installment of the Very Rev¬ 
erend Father Carroll as first Bishop of the United States, were 
marked also by the meeting of the.first Catholic Lay Congress 
in the United States. It was composed of fifteen hundred dele¬ 
gates from the several dioceses, including men of various nation¬ 
alities, as well as Indians and negroes—all of whom joined in 
perfect harmony for the common purposes of the occasion which 
were: increased activity on the part of the laity in aid of the 
clergy; a declaration of views on the important Catholic ques¬ 
tions of the hour; and the assistance of the poor. 

492. Other Events. Congress enacted (1891) an international 
copyright law which gave copyright protection to authors of 
such nations as would extend the like privilege to American 
authors. • 

The city of Johnstown and a number of neighboring villages 
in western Pennsylvania suffered an appalling disaster on May 
1, 1899. A dam in the Conemaugh River broke, and the flood 
swept villages and towns before it. Thousands of lives were 
lost, and millions of dollars’ worth of property was destroyed. 

Questions 

1. What was the purpose of each of the following: Dependent Pension 
Bill; McKinley Bill; Sherman Act? What were the advantages to the Latin- 
American states and to the United States of the Pan-American Congress? 
During Harrison’s administration how did a system of arbitration help to save 
us from war? 

2. How was Oklahoma secured and settled? 

3. Describe the first Catholic Lay Congress. 

Theme Topics 

1. In a theme of two paragraphs describe the opening of Oklahoma. (See 
picture on page 368.) 

2. Imagine that a family made homeless by the Johnstown flood has taken 
refuge in your home. Write a brief theme telling what you would do for 
their relief. 


CHAPTER XXXVIII 


GROVER CLEVELAND’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION 

DEMOCRAT—1893-1897 

493. Cleveland Elected. The result of the election of 1892 

was a sweeping victory for the Democratic party, which elected 
both the President and Congress. Grover Cleveland was chosen 
President. 

494. The Panic of 1893. When Cleveland began his second 
administration, the country was enjoying unusual prosperity, 
but the pension, tariff, and monetary legislation of the previous 
presidency had greatly disturbed the financial world. Scarcely 
had the Democratic administration begun when a disastrous 
panic swept over the country. Banks, business houses, and 
individuals could not pay their debts. Thousands of laborers 
were thrown out of work, resulting in great distress among the 
poorer classes. Strikes were common, and the number of va¬ 
grants increased enormously. 

The panic was brought about in part by widespread specula¬ 
tion and in part by the serious condition of financial affairs. 
The value of silver had gradually depreciated, but the govern¬ 
ment, according to the provisions of the Sherman Act, paid for it 
in notes redeemable in gold. Thus, the amount of gold in the 
treasury was steadily decreasing, and the people began to fear 
that the government might decide to redeem its notes in silver 
instead of in gold. Hence, there was widespread lack of confi¬ 
dence which increased the financial difficulties. The banks, 
unable to meet the demands upon them, failed in large numbers. 
Business men, finding it impossible to borrow money, had to 
suspend work; this meant the discharge of laborers and conse¬ 
quent hard times. 


370 


grover Cleveland’s second administration 371 

495. The Repeal of the Sherman Act. In order to stop the 
drain upon the gold in the treasury, Cleveland summoned a 
special session of Congress, which he advised to repeal the Sher¬ 
man Act. After long and exciting opposition the Act was re¬ 
pealed (November, 1893). The decline in the value of silver 
closed the silver mines of the West, throwing thousands of 
miners out of employment. 

496. The Wilson Tariff Act. The Democrats having won 
the election on the tariff issue, set about revising the tariff by 
passing the Wilson Bill (1893). This bill lowered the revenue 
rate of the McKinley Act from about fifty per cent to nearly 
thirty-seven per cent, and placed many articles on the free list. 

The Democratic reduction of the tariff was made at the 
wrong juncture of affairs. The income of the government was 
insufficient to cover its current expenses, and much of the gold 
in the national treasury passed into foreign hands in payment 
of bonds offered for redemption. Americans throughout the 
country began to hoard their gold. Hence, to meet demands, 
the government was obliged to issue new bonds, that is, to bor¬ 
row money. Before the close of Cleveland’s presidency the 
national debt had been increased about two hundred fifty million 
dollars. Under such conditions the Wilson Tariff was naturally 
unpopular. 

497. The Hawaiian Revolution. Before the expiration of 
Harrison’s administration the natives of Hawaii, incited by 
American seamen, and especially by our minister to the islands, 
rose in rebellion against their queen, Liliuokalani. After depos¬ 
ing her in 1893, the natives set up a provisional government 
consisting largely of Americans, and applied to the United 
States for annexation. This action was opposed in the Senate 
on the plea that the people of Hawaii had not been fairly con¬ 
sulted. When Cleveland succeeded to the presidency, the 
matter was still pending. He investigated the state of affairs, 
and, finding that the Americans had violated Washington’s 
policy by taking sides in the rebellion, opposed the annexation 


372 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


of the islands. His attempt, however, to restore the Queen 
to power failed. The independent republic which the Hawaiians 
organized (1894) continued until the United States (1898) finally 
took control of Hawaii. The islands were organized into the 
Territory of Hawaii in 1900. 

Catholicity has made considerable progress in Hawaii. There 
are many churches and schools in charge of Religious Priests and 

Sisters. Besides the 
work of education, 
Catholic charity has 
also taken upon itself 
the care of the lepers, 
for whom the Hawai¬ 
ian government set 
apart the island of Mo¬ 
lokai. Here labored 
the heroic and self- 
sacrificing Father 
Damien, the apostle 
of the lepers, and here 
his devoted successors 
still labor. Robert Louis Stevenson, who visited Hawaii and 
met Father Damien in 1890, has written a beautiful tribute 
to him. 

498. The Monroe Doctrine and Venezuela. A boundary dis¬ 
pute of long standing between Venezuela and British Guiana 
induced the President to apply the Monroe Doctrine. Great 
Britain, who was apparently tiying to secure territory from 
Venezuela not rightfully belonging to her, refused both the 
appeal of Venezuela and the advice of the United States to 
settle affairs by arbitration. For a while war seemed immi¬ 
nent. Cleveland in a special message to Congress declared 
that the Monroe Doctrine must be respected and that the 
United States was bound to resist in every possible manner 
the encroachments of Great Britain on Venezuela. Congress, 



GROUNDS OF OAHU COLLEGE, HONOLULU, HAWAII 



grover Cleveland’s second administration 373 

forgetting its party differences, unanimously supported the 
President. England finally agreed to arbitration, and matters 
were peaceably adjusted. 

499. Other Measures of Cleveland’s Administration. Con¬ 
gress repealed (1894) the Force Bill, which had been passed 
in 1870. 

Cleveland extended the Civil Service Law, placing many 
more Federal officials under the examination system. 

Utah was admitted (1896) as the forty-fifth state, after the 
adoption of a state constitution prohibiting polygamy. 

500. World’s Columbian Exposition. During Cleveland’s sec¬ 
ond administration, the World’s Columbian Exposition was 
held (1893) in Chicago. It commemorated the four hundredth 
anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, and 
surpassed all previous expositions of the kind in completeness 
and magnificence. The chief object of this fair, which was 
to give evidence of the great progress in civilization during the 
past four centuries, was most successfully accomplished. All 
the states and the leading foreign nations were represented by 
special palaces in the “ White City,” as the group of exposition 
buildings was called. 

501. Strikes—Riots—Boycotts. Great panics lead to strikes 
and vagrancy. Such was the case after the panic of 1893. A 
horse-dealer named Coxey gathered a so-called “ industrial 
army,” composed of the unemployed of all classes. This “army” 
began its march from Ohio to Washington to demand relief 
from the government. Similar “armies” set out from Texas 
and the Pacific states. They managed to reach the national 
capital, but they achieved nothing and soon disbanded. 

Several thousand workmen employed by the Pullman Car 
Company, at Pullman, near Chicago, struck for higher wages, 
and boycotts occurred on more than twenty railroads running 
out of Chicago. The employees of these railroads struck in 
order to prevent the use of Pullman cars until the company 
should raise the wages of their laborers. Business was sus- 


374 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

pended in Chicago, and travel became dangerous. Trade and 
industry were thrown into confusion, and much railroad prop¬ 
erty destroyed. The money losses amounted to not less than 
seven million dollars. After a number of weeks, a force com¬ 
bined of United States troops and state militia finally restored 
order. 

502. The Bryan-McKinley Campaign. One of the most 
exciting campaigns in our recent history occurred in 1896. It 
was generally believed that the hard times during Cleveland’s 
administration were caused chiefly by the repeal of the Sherman 
Act, and by the low average of the protective tariff provided 
for by the Wilson Act. Consequently, when the time of election 
drew near, it became evident that the main issues of the cam¬ 
paign would be the tariff and silver coinage. 

The Republican national convention nominated William 
McKinley of Ohio on a platform which declared for protection 
and reciprocity, and rejected the free coinage of silver, except 
by international agreement. The Democrats named William 
Jennings Bryan of Nebraska on a platform demanding an 
unlimited coinage of silver and gold at a ratio of sixteen to one. 
The People’s party, which favored free silver, accepted the presi¬ 
dential nominee of the Democrats. Some Democrats, believing 
in the gold standard, nominated J. M. Palmer of Illinois. 

Questions 

1. What caused the Panic of 1893? What did the Wilson Bill provide? 
What was the result? 

2. Explain the manner in which Hawaii came under the control of the 
United States. 

3. What was the Venezuela Affair? 

4. What did the Columbian Exposition commemorate? Its object? 

5. What was the object of Coxey’s Army? What did it accomplish? 

6. What is meant by the statement that the Democratic platform demanded 
coined silver at the ratio of 16 to 1? For what did the Republicans stand? 

Theme Topic 

The “White City.” 


CHAPTER XXXIX 


WILLIAM McKINLEY’S ADMINISTRATION 
REPUBLICAN—1897-1901 

503. McKinley Elected. At the election of 1896, William 
McKinley (1843-1901) was elected. He was a native of Ohio. 
In the Civil War he rose to the rank of major; later he served 
as congressman from his state. Well educated, gentle, and of 
dignified character, he endeared himself to the people by his 
blameless private life, rare tact, 
and high executive ability. He 
was a keen and far-sighted poli¬ 
tician who knew how to win the 
esteem and respect of his op¬ 
ponents. His presidential admin¬ 
istration, though successful on 
the whole, was overshadowed by 
issues resulting from the Spanish 
War and the acquisition of out¬ 
lying possessions. 

504. The Dingley Tariff. A. 
few days after his inauguration 
President McKinley called an 
extra session of Congress to con¬ 
sider the revision of the tariff. 

As a result, the Dingley Tariff 
Bill was passed after much oppo¬ 
sition from the Senate (1897). This act, in accordance with 
the policy of the party in power, raised the duties to the highest 
average known in our history (to over fifty per cent). Free 

375 



WILLIAM MCKINLEY 





376 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


trade on articles not manufactured in our country was again 
provided for. 

THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 

505. Cuban Revolts. In Cuba a deadly hatred had devel¬ 
oped between the natives and the Spaniards. This was caused 
by the oppressive rule which had deprived the Cubans of polit¬ 
ical and civil liberty, and had burdened them with taxation. 
The Cubans had tried several times to throw off the foreign 
yoke, but they had been unsuccessful. In 1895 a new revolt 
was organized. Three successive governors-general, Campos, 
Weyler, and Blanco, were unable to suppress the insurrection, 
which was secretly supported by American money and Cuban 
filibustering expeditions equipped in American harbors. 

The methods of the Spanish authorities in putting down the 
rebellion were barbarous and resulted in widespread desola¬ 
tion. The country people were compelled to leave their homes 
and move to the nearest towns, where thousands died of star¬ 
vation and disease. Congress voted that supplies be forwarded 
to the suffering Cubans, and members of the Red Cross Society, 
led by Clara Barton, went to Cuba to relieve distress. 

506. Self-Government in Cuba. The sympathy of the United 
States was naturally with the Cubans: many Americans re¬ 
sided in Cuba; American capital was invested there, and our 
commerce with the island amounted to several million dollars 
a year. Hence, President McKinley undertook by diplomacy 
to bring Spain and the Cubans to agree upon terms of peace. 

507. The Explosion of the Maine. The United States gov¬ 
ernment was watching Cuban affairs with intense interest, when, 
on the night of February 15, 1898, a terrific explosion destroyed 
the United States battleship Maine in Havana harbor. Two 
officers and two hundred sixty-six sailors went down with the 
vessel. A naval court of inquiry, appointed by the President, 
reported that the disaster was in no way due to negligence on the 
part of the officers or members of the crew of the Maine , and 


WILLIAM MCKINLEY’S ADMINISTRATION 377 

that there was no evidence to suggest that the Spanish govern¬ 
ment or any of her officials were concerned in the matter. 

Sensationalists at once made use of the event to inflame 
the minds of the people against Spain, and the probability of 
peace or war between this country and the United States was 
at once openly discussed. 

In 1911 the Maine was raised at great expense for the pur¬ 
pose of ascertaining whether it was destroyed by a torpedo 



THE (1 MAINE 7 y ENTERING HAVANA HARBOR 


mine from without or by an explosion from within. Upon 
investigation, an official statement was made that the Maine 
was first blown up from without, although the explosion of 
her own magazines a moment later caused her complete de¬ 
struction. Notwithstanding the official but interested report 
of the government, an opinion, supported by weighty marine 
authority, is still common that the explosion was caused by 
an overheated magazine beneath the decks of the Maine. 

508. Summary of Causes—Declaration of War. The Span¬ 
ish-American War was of short duration (April 25, 1898-De- 





















378 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


cember 10, 1898). Its causes may be briefly summed up as 
follows: 

Remote—The long existing desire in the United States that 
Spanish rule in Cuba be ended. The opportunity to bring this 
about was seen in the uprisings, rebellions, and hardships 
occasioned by the arbitrary rule of the Spanish captains-general. 

Immediate—A series of resolutions passed by both Houses 
of Congress (April 19, anniversary of Lexington and Concord) 
which declared: that the Cubans ought to be free and inde¬ 
pendent; that Spain must withdraw her troops from the island, 
and that the President be authorized to use the army and navy 
of the United States to compel Spain to relinquish her author¬ 
ity over Cuba. By another clause of the resolution, the United 
States promised to leave the government of the island to its 
people after its independence was achieved. 

Spain was given five days to consider the resolutions. She 
replied by recalling her minister at Washington and dismiss¬ 
ing the American minister from Madrid. As this action was 
equivalent to a declaration of war, Congress declared that war 
existed (April 25, 1898). The President called for two hun¬ 
dred thousand volunteers. Congress promptly appropriated 
fifty million dollars toward carrying on the war. A part of 
the American fleet under acting Rear Admiral Sampson was 
sent to blockade Havana; another part, under Commodore 
Winfield Scott Schley, was organized into a “flying squadron” 
to search for a Spanish fleet in command of Admiral Cervera, 
which was reported to have left the Cape Verde Islands. 

509. Cervera’s Fleet in Santiago Harbor. No one knew 
whether Cervera was bound for Cuba or whether he intended 
to surprise the cities on our eastern coast. Commodore Schley 
finally discovered the fleet in Santiago harbor. This harbor, 
known as “Cloverleaf Bay,” opens through a narrow channel 
into the ocean. Since it was strongly fortified and well laid with 
mines, it would have been unwise for an attacking fleet to 
enter it. Sampson and Schley, placing all their available vessels 


WILLIAM MCKINLEY’S ADMINISTRATION 


379 


about the entrance of Santiago harbor, exercised a vigilant 
watch over Cervera’s fleet. 

510. Hobson’s Exploit. As it was feared that Cervera’s 
fleet might by some means escape in spite of the vigilance of 
Sampson and Schley, Lieutenant Richmond Hobson volun¬ 
teered to close the harbor by sinking the coaling vessel Merrimac 
in the entrance to the harbor. With six brave companions, in the 
face of a terrific fire from the Spanish batteries, he succeeded 
in steaming the collier to a narrow part of the channel, where 
he sank it. The vessel, however, did not block the entrance. 
Hobson and his men, who had thrown themselves into the 
water, were captured by Cervera, but were kindly treated by 
him in consideration of their bravery. 

511. The Battle of Manila. Before a decisive engagement 
occurred at Cuba, the most far-reaching event of the war took 
place in the Philippine Islands. Commodore George Dewey, 
commanding an American fleet, which was then at anchor in 
Hong-Kong harbor, was ordered to attack the Spanish fleet 
in the Philippines. Setting sail immediately, on Sunday morn¬ 
ing, May 1, he entered Manila Bay, the chief harbor of the 
islands. After a masterly attack, he destroyed the enemy’s 
fleet of eleven vessels. The Spanish sustained a heavy loss 
of life, while the American fleet lost neither a single life nor ship. 
Dewey proceeded to blockade the city of Manila, where he 
awaited the arrival of General Merritt with twenty thousand 
troops from San Francisco. A few weeks later (August 13) 
Manila and the islands surrendered. President McKinley ap¬ 
pointed Dewey rear admiral, and later he was given the highest 
rank in the navy—that of admiral—while Commodores Samp¬ 
son and Schley were made rear admirals. 

512. The Capture of Santiago—Destruction of Cervera’s 
Fleet. Meantime, General W. R. Shatter with an army of 
eighteen thousand men had landed at a point a few miles dis¬ 
tant from Santiago to cooperate with Captain Sampson in the 
capture of the city. The outer line of defense at El Caney and 


380 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


San Juan was taken by assault (July 1), and the Spanish troops 
driven into Santiago, which was then practically at the mercy 
of the American army. Cervera sought safety by making a 
wild dash out of the harbor on the morning of July 2. The 
Americans gave chase with deadly fire. In a wild running fight 
every vessel of the Spanish fleet was either captured or sunk. 
The American vessels suffered little damage. Some six hundred 
Spaniards were killed or wounded and one thousand taken 
prisoners, while the Americans had but one man killed and 
three wounded. The presence of General Shatter’s army before 
the city of Santiago and the loss of Cervera’s fleet convinced 
the Spanish of the uselessness of further resistance, and a few 
days later their commander, Toral, surrendered (July 14). 

General Shatter’s force was composed chiefly of regular sol¬ 
diers, but included as volunteers a regiment of “Rough Riders,” 
known as “The First Regiment of United States Volunteer 
Cavalry,” who fought on foot. Leonard Wood was appointed 
colonel, and Theodore Roosevelt, who resigned his position as 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the purpose, was made 
lieutenant colonel. 

513. Miles in Porto Rico—Treaty of Peace. Immediately 

after the destruction of Cervera’s fleet, General Nelson A. 
Miles, then at the head of the army of the United States, pro¬ 
ceeded to Porto Rico, where he took possession of several towns 
with little difficulty. Hostilities were stopped suddenly, how¬ 
ever (August 11, 1898), by news from Washington that an 
armistice had been signed by the two nations. This ended the 
fighting. Later Spain agreed to free Cuba and to cede Porto 
Rico and one of the Ladrone islands as a war indemnity. By the 
treaty which was signed later this was confirmed and the Philip¬ 
pine Islands were ceded to the United States for twenty million 
dollars. 

514. Results of the War—Reconstruction of Cuba and Porto 
Rico. The Spanish-American war, which cost the United States 


WILLIAM MCKINLEY’S ADMINISTRATION 381 

one hundred thirty million dollars and the loss of two hundred 
ninety-five men killed in battle, ended Spanish rule in the 
Western Hemisphere. 

The United States occupied the island of Cuba, January 1, 
1899, and appointed a military governor, pending the organ¬ 
ization of a native government. This was established when 
Don Tomas Estrada Palma was inaugurated as president 



HUTS IN PORTO RICO 


(May 20, 1902). With this event Cuba became a republic 
under the protection of the United States, which retained the 
right of a general supervision of the foreign affairs of the island. 
Porto Rico, as one of the spoils of the war, was organized as 
a United States dependency under a territorial form of govern¬ 
ment (May, 1900). 

With the American occupation of Cuba, annual payments 
by the government to the Church for religious purposes ceased. 
The long discussion and investigation which ensued because of 


































382 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


this ended in an adjustment, by a judicial commission (1902), 
in favor of the claims of the Church. 

515. War Continues in the Philippines—Outcome. At the 

time of American occupancy of the Philippines, the natives 
of the islands, under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, were 
in revolt against Spain, and had set up a revolutionary govern¬ 
ment. They welcomed and aided the American troops, but 
upon finding that independence was denied them at the close 
of the war, they took up arms against the Americans. Several 
years of bush or guerrilla fighting followed. A great many 
natives were killed, and United States troops finally occupied 
nearly all of the island of Luzon; Aguinaldo was captured 
and soon after swore allegiance to the United States. With 
this event hostilities ceased, and President McKinley (July 4, 
1899) declared by proclamation the restoration of peace in the 
Philippines and extended a general amnesty to the former 
insurgents. William Howard Taft was then appointed governor 
of the islands, and during his term of office an honest and stable 
government was established. 

In the Philippines there had been the strictest union of 
Church and State for more than three centuries, a union which 
naturally brought difficulties under the new American govern¬ 
ment. The most important problem was that of the religious 
orders and their relation to the native races. The cry for 
their banishment and spoliation could not be listened to, since 
there were some five million Catholics dependent on their 
ministrations. The record of the friars was a glorious one, 
and to their rule the natives of the island owed their excep¬ 
tional prosperity. These friars had transformed them from a 
barbarous Malay race into a Christian people. 

At the beginning of the American occupation of the islands, 
a question arose over the ownership of large tracts of land 
that had come into the possession of the friars. Since this 
was a matter that could not fittingly be settled by the Amer- 


WILLIAM MCKINLEY’S ADMINISTRATION 


383 


ican forces in the Philippines, Theodore Roosevelt, who had 
become President of the United States, finally entrusted Gov¬ 
ernor Taft of the Philippines with a mission to the Vatican. 
In the Eternal City negotiations were entered into between 
Governor Taft and a commission of five Cardinals, and a mutual 
understanding was reached between the Vatican and the Ameri¬ 
can government regarding the management of Philippine affairs 
and ownership of the friars’ land. 

516. International Peace Conference. In response to an 
invitation by the Russian Czar to an international conference, 
all the principal nations of the world sent (1899) prominent 
delegates to The Hague, in Holland. The paramount object 
of this congress was the consideration and adoption of some 
method whereby international differences might be settled by 
arbitration rather than by war. The crowning act of the con¬ 
vention was the establishment of an International Court of 
Arbitration at The Hague, in which fifteen of the world’s fore¬ 
most nations were represented. 

517. The Settlement of the Samoan Trouble—TutUila. The 
United States, Great Britain, and Germany assumed (1889) 
the rule of the Samoan Islands by joint agreement. By a final 
treaty (1899), Great Britain relinquished her interests in the 
Samoan group, and the islands were divided between Germany 
and the United States. Four of them, including Tutuila, the 
largest of the group, and Pango Pango, which had the best 
harbor in the Pacific, were allotted to the United States. The 
islands of Christmas, Baker, Midway, Wake, and Howland, 
lying in the Pacific, and never claimed by any power, were 
also annexed to the United States. These islands, especially 
Tutuila, serve the United States as convenient coaling, naval, 
and cable stations. 

518. “Open Door” with China—The Boxer Uprising. In 1900 

the United States, through Secretary Hay, secured the so-called 
“open door” for our trade with China, by which the leading 


384 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


European powers and Japan agreed to grant free trade to all 
the world in the Chinese ports under their control. The Chinese 
Empire (a republic since 1912) had for centuries excluded from 
its domain all foreign influence and commercial relations. The 
leading nations of Europe, notwithstanding, secured from 
China, under one or another pretext, portions of her territory, 
and it was not improbable that the Chinese Empire would 



THE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY IN WASHINGTON 

(Opened in 1897) 


finally be partitioned among contending powers, which could 
at will place heavy duties on all goods entering the ports of 
China under their control. This would have meant the shut¬ 
ting out of American goods from Chinese ports. 

The growing feeling of the Chinese that they had no rights that 
foreign nations felt bound to respect resulted in the Boxer up¬ 
rising (1900). The foreign legations in Pekin were besieged, and 
thousands of Christians were massacred. Cathedrals, churches, 
Chinese palaces, libraries, and temples in different parts of the 







WILLIAM MCKINLEY’S ADMINISTRATION 


385 


city were reduced to ashes. To put down the uprising and rescue 
the legations, troops were sent to Pekin by Great Britain, France, 
Germany, Russia, Japan, and the United States. After fighting 
its way to Pekin, the army relieved the legations and the Catholic 
Cathedral, in which between two and three thousand persons— 
priests, nuns, and fugitive Christians—had taken refuge. Diffi¬ 
culties with China were finally adjusted at Pekin (1901) by a 
protocol signed by the representatives of ten foreign powers. 
The continuation of the “open door” with China was again 
assured through the efforts of Secretary Hay (1904). 

Questions 

1. For what did the Dingley tariff provide? 

2. Why did Americans sympathize with Cuba in her revolt against Spain? 
What event led to the outbreak of the war? Find Manila on the map. 
Locate Santiago and Porto Rico. Because of this war what new territory was 
added to the United States? What were the results to Cuba? What did the 
Filipinos do when they learned that their government was to be taken over 
by the United States? What was the outcome? What coaling stations in 
the Pacific has the United States acquired? 

3. Why did the United States send soldiers to China in 1900? What was 
the result? 

Theme Topics 

1. Life in a Porto Rico Hut. (See picture on page 381.) 

2. Look at the picture on page 384. In a brief theme describe the Con¬ 
gressional Library. Some other government building, such as your local 
post office, may be described instead if you prefer. 


CHAPTER XL 


THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S ADMINISTRATION 

REPUBLICAN—1901-1909 

519. McKinley Is Reelected. The campaign of 1900 re¬ 
sulted in the reelection of William McKinley. Scarcely six 
months after his inauguration, during a public reception given 

in his honor at the 
time of the Pan- 
American Exposition 
at Buffalo, he was as¬ 
sassinated. He died 
eight days later, our 
third martyred Presi¬ 
dent. The tragedy 
shocked the whole 
world. The remains 
of President McKin¬ 
ley were conveyed to 
Washington and from 
there to Canton, 
Ohio, amidst the most 
touching scenes of 
popular grief. 

520. Roosevelt En¬ 
ters Upon the Presi¬ 
dential Office. Theo¬ 
dore Roosevelt, the 
Vice-president, took the oath of office as President at Buffalo, 
New York, on the day of McKinley’s death, and at once assumed 

386 



THEODORE ROOSEVELT 





THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S ADMINISTRATION 387 

the duties of his office. He followed his predecessor’s policy 
and, for the time, retained his Cabinet. 

Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York, 1858. His fam¬ 
ily, one of the oldest in the United States, was prominent in 
the early history of New York under the Dutch rulers of the 
province. He first came to national notice at the time of the 
Spanish-American War. After the war he was elected gov¬ 
ernor of New York, from which position he advanced to the 
vice-presidency of the United States and next to the presidency. 
As President he was direct and vigorous in his methods of 
conducting the nation’s business. Though his aggressiveness 
aroused criticism, his honest, fearless personality soon won for 
him great popularity, which enabled him to secure a consid¬ 
erable amount of good legislation, as well as to exercise great 
influence upon the general course of politics throughout the 
country. His greatest service to the country probably consists 
in his resolute enforcement of such laws as affected the methods 
of business employed by monopolies and great corporations. 

521. The Anthracite Coal Strike. The most serious strike 
on record in American industrial history occurred (1902) in 
Pennsylvania. Under the leadership of John Mitchell, the 
president of the United Mine Workers of America, the anthra¬ 
cite coal miners of Pennsylvania demanded an increase of 
wages and a reduction in the hours of labor. When the mine 
owners refused to arbitrate the questions in dispute, one hun¬ 
dred forty-seven thousand workmen were thrown out of em¬ 
ployment for nearly five months, while a great fuel famine 
paralyzed industry and occasioned much suffering throughout 
the country. Finally, owing to the influence of President 
Roosevelt, who voiced the demands of public sentiment, the 
trouble was adjusted by a commission which decided in favor 
of the miners. 

522. The Isthmian Canal. The most important legislation of 
Roosevelt’s first term was the Spooner Act (1902), which author¬ 
ized Congress to construct the Panama canal. Our govern- 


388 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ment purchased the rights and property of the French Panama 
Canal Company for forty million dollars, promptly appropii- 
ated ten million dollars, and authorized the issuance of one 
hundred thirty million dollars in bonds. The great task of 
digging the canal, begun May 1, 1904, was completed in the 
summer of 1914. The canal enables our eastern ports to com- 



MIRAFLORES LOCKS, PANAMA CANAL 


pete on even terms with the great ports of Europe in the com¬ 
mercial operations with China and Japan. 

The canal is about fifty miles long, measuring from deep 
water in the Atlantic to deep water in the Pacific. The average 
width of the canal is six hundred forty-nine feet. The least 
depth of water at any point is forty-one feet. The cost of build¬ 
ing the Panama canal is estimated at about four hundred million 
dollars. 
















THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S ADMINISTRATION 


389 


In 1881 a French company, under the leadership of Ferdinand 
de Lesseps, constructor of the Suez canal, had begun the con¬ 
struction of a canal at Panama. After several years of work 
at enormous expense the company became bankrupt and had 
to abandon the project. The fact that the warship Oregon 
was obliged to make its long journey from San Francisco around 
Cape Horn in order to join the Atlantic squadron during the 
Spanish-American War, attracted attention to the difficulty of 
defending the two coasts of our country, and the demand for 
a canal became loud. An American company had in the mean¬ 
time acquired the property of the French Panama Canal Com¬ 
pany for a total of forty million dollars and offered it for sale 
to the United States. Through the diplomacy of Secretary 
Hay, the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty (1901) was made, by which 
England, which had rights in the canal under a former treaty, 
conceded to the United States the right to own and control a 
future isthmian canal. A treaty with Colombia was next pro¬ 
posed, but this the republic rejected. Consequently, the dis¬ 
appointed inhabitants of Panama, considering their interest dis¬ 
regarded, revolted and set up a republic, independent of Colom¬ 
bia. This republic was promptly recognized by Congress, and 
a treaty was entered into which secured to our government the 
control of a ten-mile strip across the isthmus. 

523. Irrigation of the Western Arid Lands. The western 
public domain included immense tracts of arid land. To irri¬ 
gate and reclaim these for cultivation, Congress enacted (1902) 
a law which provides that the proceeds from the sale of public 
lands in certain western states—Arizona, California, Colorado, 
Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, 
North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming—be expended in the con¬ 
struction of irrigation works, such as dams, reservoirs, and 
canals. Thus vast regions of hitherto useless lands were made 
productive and available for settlers. 

524. Three National Anniversary Celebrations. The one- 
hundredth anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase was com- 


390 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


memorated by a World’s Exposition held at St. Louis, the 
metropolis of the land first visited by the illustrious La 
Salle. The fair was held in 1904, the year succeeding the cen¬ 
tennial, owing to the fact that arrangements were not com¬ 
pleted in .due time. In the number and magnificence of its 
structures, as well as in the exhibition of the useful and the 
beautiful, this exposition ranked as one of the most attractive 
and beneficial ever held. It was attended by nearly nineteen 
million persons, and its cost amounted to nearly fifty million 
dollars. 

The one-hundredth anniversary of the Lew T is-Clark Expedi¬ 
tion was celebrated (1905) by an oriental fair at Portland, 
Oregon, in full view of the Cascades and their snow-capped 
peaks. A notable feature of the fair was the extensive display 
made by Asiatic nations. 

The three-hundredth anniversary of the settlement of James¬ 
town (1607) was commemorated by the Jamestown Exposition 
held at Norfolk, Virginia (1907). Its most notable and enter¬ 
taining exhibit was the grand naval parade in which all the 
great nations of the world participated. 

525. Election of 1904. Throughout the country there was 
general satisfaction with the straightforward policy and execu¬ 
tive ability of President Roosevelt. In 1904 he was unani¬ 
mously nominated by the Republican convention held in 
Chicago. The Democrats, in their convention in St. Louis, 
named Judge Alton B. Parker, of New York, as their candidate. 
The campaign issue was largely one of personal popularity of 
the candidates. Roosevelt was elected by an overwhelming 
majority. 

526. War Between Russia and Japan. At the close of the 
Boxer trouble in China, the Russian government refused to 
withdraw the troops which it had stationed in Manchuria, 
China, for the protection of the Chinese Eastern Railroad. 
Japan, who looked upon the event as a menace to her national 
safety and commercial interests, declared war against Russia. 


THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S ADMINISTRATION 


391 


This war, which proved to be one of the most bloody engage¬ 
ments of modern times, threatened to involve other nations. 
The western nations, watching the struggle with great con¬ 
cern, were shocked by the frightful loss of life. Finally, through 
the diplomacy of Secretary Hay and President Roosevelt, com¬ 
missioners from each of the warring countries met at Ports¬ 
mouth, New Hampshire, and after long weeks of discussion 
signed a treaty of peace (1905). 

527. Important Legislation. During the second term of 
President Roosevelt’s administration, Congress enacted some 
important legislation: the meat inspection law; a pure food law 
by which manufacturers of prepared foods and drugs are for¬ 
bidden to use adulterants in foods and medicines, and are re¬ 
quired to label all food stuffs and packages so as to state exactly 
what they contain; the Oklahoma and Indian Territories were 
admitted as one state, the forty-sixth, under the name of the 
former, with Guthrie as its capital (in 1910, however, Oklahoma 
City became the capital); naturalization laws were passed, 
which increased the head tax on immigrants, excluded unde¬ 
sirable classes, and regulated more carefully the process of 
naturalization; a new Interstate Commerce Law was passed, 
which reorganized the Interstate Commerce Commission and 
gave it the power to fix rates, though the railroads retained the 
right of appeal to the courts. Railroad companies were for¬ 
bidden to engage in any other business. 

528. The San Francisco Disaster. A series of earthquake 
shocks occurred in California (1906). In San Francisco the 
shocks were followed by a terrible conflagration. Miles of the 
business part of the city were destroyed, hundreds of lives lost, 
and nearly two hundred thousand people made homeless. The 
Californians, at once beginning the work of reconstruction, 
erected before the end of the year many earthquake-proof 
and fire-proof buildings of steel, stone, brick, or concrete. 
Within three years a new city had been erected on the ruins 
of the old. 


392 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


529. The Second Peace Conference. For the second time an 
International Peace Conference met at The Hague (1907). 
Twenty-one nations were represented by distinguished dele¬ 
gates. The principal outcome was the establishment of the 
International Court of Arbitration commonly known as The 
Hague Tribunal. Both of these conferences, in which the 
United States took a leading part, gave rise to the hope that 
the time would soon come when national disagreements would 
be settled by arbitration. 

530. Conservation of Our Natural Resources. Of great na¬ 
tional importance was a Congress of State Governors and other 
national leaders, summoned to Washington by President Roose¬ 
velt (1908) for the purpose of considering the conservation 
of our national resources. The aim was to devise some ways 
and means of preserving our forests, agricultural lands, coal 
mines, waterways and water power, fisheries, and game from 
depletion or destruction. As a people, Americans have been 
extremely wasteful of these natural resources of wealth, and 
it is now generally realized that if the waste is continued it 
will necessarily lead to complete exhaustion. The Congress 
of Governors adopted the following resolutions: that forests 
be conserved and increased; that necessary provisions be made 
to prevent erosion, or washing away of arable lands; that waters 
be guarded and used to the best interests of the community; 
that arid regions be irrigated and swamps drained, and, in 
general, that all sources of national wealth be sacredly pre¬ 
served for the community as a whole, and no monopoly thereof 
be tolerated. 

Included in the movement of conservation is the proposal 
to improve our waterways. A plan to establish a ship route 
between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico is especially 
favored. 

531. The United States Naval Cruise. Another of the most- 
noteworthy events of President Roosevelt’s administration was 
the globe-circling voyage of a fleet of American battleships 


THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S ADMINISTRATION 


393 


(December 16, 1907-February 22, 1909). After a display in 
Hampton Roads, Virginia, the fleet of sixteen warships, in com¬ 
mand of Rear-Admiral Evans, set out by way of South America 
and the Pacific coast to San Francisco; thence, westward, 
under Rear-Admiral Sperry, to the Hawaiian Islands, the 
Philippines, Japan, and China, and finally back home by way 
of the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, 



and the Strait of Gibraltar. After traversing a distance of 
more than thirty thousand miles, the fleet arrived at Hamp¬ 
ton Roads on February 22, 1909. This cruise is noteworthy in 
naval history, since it proved not only the expert seamanship 
of our navy, but also called into expression the friendly dis¬ 
position of foreign nations and impressed upon them the strength 
of the American Republic. 

532. Death of Leo XIII—Election and Coronation of Pius X. 

During the course of this administration the Catholic world 
mourned the death of the illustrious Pope Leo XIII. He was 
born at Carpineto, Italy, March 2, 1810, was elected Pope, 
















































394 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


February 20, 1878, and died at Rome, July 20, 1903. The 
cardinals immediately entered into a conclave and by fifty-five 
out of the possible sixty votes, elected (August 4) Guiseppe 
(Joseph) Sarto, Pope Pius X, as the successor of Leo XIII. 
His coronation took place on the following Sunday, August 9, 
1903. 

Catholics are especially grateful to Pius X for his promotion 
of frequent, and even daily Holy Communion; for enforcing 
again the ancient law of admitting children to Holy Com¬ 
munion at an early age, and for his Motu Proprio on sacred 
music. 

Questions 

1. What was the great strike of 1902? What did the strikers want? How 
was the strike settled? 

2. Locate the Panama Canal on the map. By whom -was the first attempt 
made to build a canal across this strip of land? Why did America become 
interested in the project? 

3. What is irrigation? Try to find out how irrigation is accomplished. 
Name states where extensive irrigation is carried on. 

4. What important laws were passed during Roosevelt’s administration? 

5. What was the outcome of the Peace Conference at The Hague? Locate 
The Hague on the map. 

6. What does the phrase “conservation of natural resources” mean? Find 
out all you can about the needless wasting of our resources. 

7. What did the naval cruise do for the United States? 

8. Who succeeded Pope Leo XIII? 

Theme Topics 

1. The Forest Rangers. 

A Trees in American History. 


CHAPTER XLI 


WILLIAM H. TAFT’S ADMINISTRATION 


REPUBLICAN—1909-1913 



533. Taft Elected. The presidential election of 1908 was a 

Republican victory. William H. Taft (1857- ) was elected. 

He was born in Ohio and was educated at Yale University. 
He had served as circuit court judge, president of the United 
States Philippine Commission, first civil governor of these islands 
(1901), and Secretary of War 
during Roosevelt’s administra¬ 
tion. The experience gained in 
the broad scope of his civil duties 
served him well in his office as 
President of the nation. His 
administration was character¬ 
ized by a keen sense of justice, a 
sincerity of purpose, and a high 
sense of public duty. 

534. The Payne-Aldrich Tar¬ 
iff. In the presidential campaign 
of 1908, both parties stood for 
tariff revision. Consequently, 

President Taft promptly called 
an extra session of Congress and, 
after months of heated debates, william Howard taft 

the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Bill 

was passed (August, 1909). This measure, like the McKinley 
and Dingley tariff bills, was, contrary to the expectations of 
the people at large, highly protective. On the whole, it prac- 


395 





396 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


tically increased their rates. A very important clause of the 
Payne-Aldrich Bill provided for the appointment of a Tariff 
Board for purposes of investigation and of serving the President 
as a body of advisers on the subject. 

535. The Postal Savings System. Congress enacted (1910) 
a measure providing for the establishment of a postal savings 
bank system. According to this system any post office where 
money orders are issued may become a postal savings bank. 
Any person ten years of age or over may become a depositor. 
There is a restriction that no one can deposit more than one 
hundred dollars in a calendar month, or five hundred dollars 
altogether. Interest is paid at the rate of two per cent per 
annum and deposits may be withdrawn on demand. It is said 
that many millions of dollars which had been in hiding or 
needlessly expended in small amounts have been entrusted to 
the government, which guarantees payment and gives the 
depositor absolute assurance of receiving back his money. 

536. Discovery of the Two Poles. After twenty years of 
hazardous and difficult searching for the North Pole, Com¬ 
mander Robert E. Peary’s efforts were finally crowned with suc¬ 
cess in 1909. 

Captain Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, discovered 
the South Pole two years later (1911). 

537. The Treaty with Japan. In March, 1911, a new treaty 
with Japan was negotiated. The clause recognizing the Ameri¬ 
can right to exclude laborers from our country, which was 
included in the old treaty, was omitted in the new treaty. The 
treaty conceded to Japan the right to adopt a high protective 
tariff against American and other foreign trade. It met with 
opposition from western senators, especially because of the 
omission of the anti-immigration clause. However, a statement 
signed by the Japanese ambassador at Washington, and added 
to the treaty, declared officially that the Japanese government 
for several years had been checking the immigration of Japanese 
to America. 


WILLIAM H. TAFT’S ADMINISTRATION 


397 


538. Trouble with Nicaragua. During an insurrection in 
Nicaragua (1909-1910), two American surveyors, Canon and 
Groce, residing in Nicaragua, were imprisoned and shot by orders 
of the president, Zelaya, on charge of being adventurers fighting 
in the ranks of the insurgents. On receipt of the news, our 
government sent a number of American war ships to Nicaraguan 
ports. After an investigation of the affair, matters were finally 
peaceably adjusted. 

539. Mexican Border Warfare. In 1911 Mexican insurgents 
headed by Francisco A. Madero revolted against President 
Diaz. During the course of the uprising, the rebels advanced 
upon the Texas and Arizona borders, and affairs became so 
critical that our War Department sent troops to guard the 
Rio Grande. President Taft warned the Mexican government 
and the insurgents not to endanger American lives by fighting 
so near the border. After months of resistance, President Diaz, 
seeing that the insurgents were gaining their cause, issued a 
manifesto of resignation. A provisional president was elected 
and the revolution seemed to be at an end. 

540. The Newfoundland Fishery Question. The long stand¬ 
ing disputes between the United States and Great Britain 
regarding the right of fishing off the coast of Newfoundland 
were submitted to The Hague Tribunal for arbitration (1910). 
Both countries submitted to the verdict, but the decision was 
clearly against the United States. The Tribunal conceded to 
Great Britain the right to make Newfoundland fishing regu¬ 
lations without the consent of the United States, but with the 
understanding that England must not violate the treaty of 1818, 
which gave to Americans the right to fish on the shores of 
British America and enter the harbors for supplies and repairs; 
closed to American fishermen on no-treaty coasts all bays ten 
miles or less between headlands; gave the American fishermen 
the right to enter certain bays for shelter, repairs, wood, or 
water, but forbade the taking, drying, or curing of fish therein; 
and granted the United States the liberty to take fish in the 


398 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


bays, harbors, and creeks on certain parts of the southern and 
western coasts of Newfoundland. 

541. Vacancy in the Chief Judiciary. In 1910 the United 
States mourned the death of Melville W. Fuller, who had been 

the Chief Justice of 
the United States Su¬ 
preme Court for 
twenty-two years. 
Edward D. White was 
appointed his succes¬ 
sor—the second Cath- 
olic in American 
history to fill that 
exalted position. 
Chief Justice White 
was born in Louisiana 
in 1845, and educated 
at Mount St. Mary’s, 
Maryland, at the Jes¬ 
uit College, New Or¬ 
leans, and at George¬ 
town University. He 
was elected Justice of 
chief justice white the Louisiana Su¬ 

preme Court in 1878 
and United States Senator in 1891. In 1894 he was appointed 
Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President Cleve¬ 
land and in 1910 elevated to the Chief Justiceship by President 
Taft. 

542. Two New States. New Mexico and Arizona were ad¬ 
mitted (1912) to the Union as the forty-seventh and the forty- 
eighth states. 

543. A Great Disaster—Destructive Floods. One of the most 
appalling disasters in the history of ocean traffic occurred in 
April, 1912. The steamer Titantic of the White Star Line, the 




WILLIAM H. TAFT’S ADMINISTRATION 


399 


most gigantic passenger ship ever afloat, was making its first 
voyage across the Atlantic from Southampton to New York. 
While advancing at the high speed of twenty-one knots an 
hour, it crashed into an iceberg which ripped off the heavy 
steel plates from bow to midship. The water gradually filled 
the compartments and after some hours the great vessel, with 
1347 men, 103 women, and 53 children, sank to the bottom of 
the Atlantic. 

The flow of water from heavy rains and the melting of snows 
on the Rocky and Alleghany Mountains had so swollen the 
lower course of the Mississippi as to cause destructive floods 
(1912). Hundreds of lives and millions of dollars’ worth of 
property were destroyed and thousands of persons rendered 
homeless. 

544. Two New Cardinals. An event of particular interest 
to the Catholics of the United States was the creation (Novem¬ 
ber, 1911) of two American Cardinals—the late John Farley, 
Archbishop of New York, and William O’Connell, Archbishop 
of Boston. On the day appointed, the two cardinals elect re¬ 
paired to the apostolic palace in Rome, where His Holiness, 
Pius X, conferred upon them the red hat. The ceremonies over, 
each cardinal was assigned his titular church in Rome. The 
Holy Father expressed to the newly appointed American cardi¬ 
nals his recognition of the loyalty of his American children, and 
his gratification at the growth of the Catholic Church in the 
American Republic. 


Questions 

1. To which political party did Taft belong? State two provisions of the 
Payne-Aldrich Tariff Bill. 

2. What are the postal savings banks? 

3. Tell of the treaty with Japan. What were its effects? 

4. In what manner was the Newfoundland Fisheries question settled? 

5. Discuss the trouble with Nicaragua; the Mexican border warfare. 

6. Who was Edward W. White? 

7. Name two states admitted during Taft’s administration. 

8. What was the Titanic disaster? 


400 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


9. What Cardinals were appointed? How many American Cardinals are 
there? Name them. 

10. Enumerate the most important events of Taft’s administration. 

Theme Topics 

1. Visit the postal savings department of your post office. Write a short 
theme describing it. 

2. Let one or two members of the class imagine they were passengers on 
the Titanic and tell the story of the disaster to the class. 


CHAPTER XLII 


WOODROW WILSON’S ADMINISTRATION 

DEMOCRAT—1913-1921 

545. Wilson Elected. In the presidential election of 1912 
Woodrow Wilson of the Democratic party was elected by a 
sweeping majority. For the first time in twenty years, and for 
the second time since the Civil War, there was a Democratic 
President and a Democratic ma¬ 
jority in both houses of Congress. 

A new generation of leaders had 
grown up; the change meant new 
men, new ideals, new plans. 

Woodrow Wilson, a native of 
Virginia, noted as an educator 
and author, was in turn grad¬ 
uate, professor, and president of 
Princeton University. He became 
governor of New Jersey (1910), 
and his remarkable success in 
managing the government of the 
state brought him prominently 
forward as a candidate of his 
party for the presidency. 

546. The Sixty-third Congress 
in Extra Session. The many important questions now con¬ 
fronting the administration occasioned the President to call an 
extra session of Congress. Contrary to the century-long custom 
of sending a written message to Congress, President Wilson 
opened the first session of the Sixty-third Congress by delivering 
his message in a personal address to the two houses assembled 

401 







402 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


in the hall of the House of Representatives. The great problems 
placed before the legislative body by the President were a revision 
of the tariff, an income tax, and a reform of the currency. 

547. The Underwood Tariff. Many supporters of the Demo¬ 
cratic platform attributed the high cost of living to high tariff 
rates; accordingly, Representative Underwood introduced a 
bill proposing a reduction of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff. After 
many long and heated debates, the measure finally passed both 
houses and was signed (1913) by President Wilson. The Un¬ 
derwood Tariff abolished all duties on meats, fish, dairy prod¬ 
ucts, potatoes, coal, iron ore, lumber, many classes of farm 
and office machinery, and raw wool. It reduced nearly two- 
thirds of the tariff on woolen clothing and one-third on cotton 
clothing, provided for free sugar in 1916, and for a general re¬ 
duction on all important articles in general use. 

548. The Sixteenth Amendment—Income Tax. The-proposed 
Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified (1913) 
by the necessary three-fourths of all the state legislatures. 
This amendment empowered Congress to lay and collect taxes 
on incomes. 

In accordance with this Sixteenth Amendment, Congress 
enacted a law providing for an income tax, by which every 
person in the United States and every American citizen abroad 
must pay a tax on his or her yearly income, if it amounts to 
more than four thousand dollars. In order to increase govern¬ 
ment revenue during the World War, the income tax law 
was modified. Incomes of one thousand dollars or over in the 
cases of unmarried persons, and two thousand dollars or over 
in the cases of married persons, were taxed. 

549. The Federal Reserve Act. In 1913 Congress passed the 
Owen-Glass Bill, which provides for a system of large regional 
reserve banks—not less than eight nor more then twelve, formed 
by a joining together of national banks—and for the establish¬ 
ment of branch banks where business requires it. It also creates 
a federal reserve board of seven members, consisting of four men 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


403 


from the banks and three federal officers (Secretary of the Treas¬ 
ury, Secretary of Agriculture, and Comptroller of Currency). 
The most important feature, the so-called “re-discount provi¬ 
sion,” is that, when necessary, any bank can turn over to the 
regional banks, notes of business men who have borrowed money 
from it, and get fifty per cent of their face value in new paper 
money. The new notes are to be guaranteed by the local bank 
and the United States, and protected by a gold reserve of forty 
per cent to insure absolute safety. The whole idea is to prevent 
panics, by making capital and credit flow where it is needed 
and not letting it pile up uselessly where it is not needed. 

550. The Seventeenth Amendment. The Seventeenth Amend¬ 
ment to the Constitution, ratified (1913) by the necessary 
three-fourths of all the states, requires that United States Sen¬ 
ators be elected directly by the people of the states, not by the 
legislatures. 

551. The Parcel Post. A parcel post provision had gone into 
effect during President Taft’s administration (1913). It provided 
that packages weighing eleven pounds or less could be sent by 
mail at very low rates. The provision was, some months later, 
modified by raising the limit of weight to twenty pounds in the 
first two zones, and reducing the rate. During President 
Wilson’s administration it was furthermore ordered that, 
beginning January 1, 1914, packages of fifty pounds be carried 
not more than one hundred and fifty miles, and that books be 
admitted to the Parcel Post. 

552. The Tolls Repeal Bill. According to the Hay-Paunce- 
fote Treaty with England, the Panama Canal was to be free, 
and open on terms of entire equality, to the vessels of commerce 
and war of all nations. In 1913 Congress passed a law which 
exempted from the payment of tolls vessels engaged in the coast¬ 
wise trade of the United States. After many long discussions 
in Congress, the Tolls Repeal Bill, which was strongly supported 
by President Wilson, was finally passed (1914), repealing this 
part of the Panama Canal Tolls Law. 


404 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


553. Trouble with Mexico. As was previously stated, the 
people of Mexico rose in rebellion (1911) against President Diaz, 
who, for thirty years,' had ruled the country like a monarch. 
The rebellion ended when he resigned. Scarcely had his suc¬ 
cessor, Madero, the leader of the revolutionists, entered upon 
the presidential office when a new insurrection broke out. 
General Huerta and others who had been supporting Madero 
suddenly turned their troops against him, forced him to resign, 
and murdered him. Huerta now became provisional governor, 
but President Wilson refused to recognize this government, on 
the principle that the United States should not recognize govern¬ 
ments in this hemisphere that rest upon nothing but violence 
and personal ambition. While a fierce revolution against 
Huerta raged in northern Mexico, several American sailors in 
a motor boat, flying the American flag, landed at Tampico and 
were captured by the Mexicans. Although they were released 
after a short time, the incident was considered an insult to the 
American flag, and an apology and a salute of twenty-one guns 
for the flag were demanded. When Mexico refused to comply 
with this demand, the North Atlantic fleet of the United States 
Navy was ordered to Mexican ports, while Congress empowered 
the President to use the Army, the Navy, and the Treasury as he 
might deem best for upholding the dignity and honor of the 
nation. The President, however, took a firm stand against any 
declaration of war, and stated that this Mexican affair need not 
culminate in war if handled with firmness. Delay was fast 
becoming dangerous, for a German steamer loaded with muni¬ 
tions of war and consigned to the Mexican government arrived 
in the harbor of Vera Cruz. The President now ordered the 
seizure of the customhouse at Vera Cruz to prevent the German 
steamer from landing her cargo, and the customhouse was taken 
without opposition. A slight encounter, however, followed, 
during which several were killed and wounded on both sides. 

At this important crisis, envoys from Argentina, Brazil, and 
Chile (A. B. C. envoys) offered to bring about a peaceful adjust- 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


405 


ment of matters. Both the United States and the Huerta 
government of Mexico agreed to desist from further action and 
to send representatives to meet the A. B. C. envoys at Niagara 
Falls, Canada. This conference was successful in bringing 
about a peaceful solution of the problem. 

554. Cape Cod Canal. In 1914 a canal connecting Buzzard’s 
Bay and Massachusetts Bay was opened to commerce. It is 
thirteen miles in length and its construction cost twelve million 
dollars. By its use the water route between Boston and New 
York is shortened by seventy miles and coastwise vessels avoid 
the dangerous passage around Cape Cod. 


THE WORLD WAR 
CAUSES LEADING TO THE WORLD WAR 

In preceding chapters the history of our country has been 
traced from the discovery by Columbus in 1492 to its position 
as one of the greatest nations of the world in 1914. We must 
now consider an international event which affected the interests 
of all civilization—the World War. To understand the World 
War, it is necessary to know something of the relations existing 
among the nations of Europe previous to its outbreak. 

555. Struggle for Supremacy Among Nations of Europe. For 
centuries Europe has been the battleground of the world. More 
wars have been fought there than on any other continent, and 
they have had their origin in the desire of the nations for expan¬ 
sion in territory and in power. The stronger nations have 
overcome their weaker neighbors, thereby extending their 
boundaries. There always have been struggles for supremacy 
among the greater nations of Europe. After the decline of 
Greece, Rome rose to a high place, becoming the first nation 
of importance in Europe. She dominated the world until the 
fifth century, when the Germanic races from the North over¬ 
spread the Roman Empire and caused its downfall. After a 


406 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


long period, during which no single country was supreme in 
Europe, Spain emerged, the first of modern nations. She held 
sway over all other nations until the sixteenth century. At this 
period she passed the zenith of her power, and thereafter she 
rapidly declined as France assumed leadership. France reached 
her period of greatest influence when, under Napoleon, she 
controlled Europe from the ocean to Russia. But all of Europe 
leagued against France, bringing about her fall in 1815. Great 
Britain then became the dominating power in Europe; she 
became the greatest nation of Europe and of the world. 

556. Development of the British Empire. It has been shown 
that, as a result of the French and Indian War, Canada was 
ceded to Great Britain by France (1763). At the same time 
India passed from French to British domination. With these 
acquisitions the island kingdom became a world empire. She 
has gradually extended her domains until today she is the 
greatest commercial and colonial power in the world. She has 
brought under her flag, besides Canada and India, the entire 
continent of Australia, Egypt, and other parts of Africa, many 
islands, and some parts of the Turkish Empire—more than one- 
fifth of the land area of the world. To hold her widely scattered 
territories together, Great Britain had to gain control of the 
seas. She gradually built up a powerful navy, and became 
known as the “Mistress of the Seas.” 

557. Russia Becomes a World Power. After the decline of 
Napoleon (1815), Russia, which had helped to defeat him, devel¬ 
oped rapidly. This great Slav power was extending her bound¬ 
aries toward Constantinople and in central and eastern Asia. 
Her aim was to gain more power in India and to get control 
of Constantinople. Great Britain, to protect her interests 
in India, formed an alliance with France, and sent troops to 
the Black Sea. In the Crimean War which followed (1853), 
Russia was defeated and thus prevented from gaining control 
of Constantinople. In Asia, Japan, which had suddenly risen 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


407 


to power, carried on a struggle against Russia. Finally, in the 
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Russia was defeated. 

558. Germany Rises to Power. In 1871, after the close of 
the Fran co-Prussian War between France and the most powerful 
state in Germany, all the German states of Europe, except 
Austria, were united in one empire, with the King of Prussia, 
bearing the title of Emperor, at its head. Germany soon be¬ 
came the greatest continental power in Europe, and, under the 
leadership of Prussia, exercised an enormous influence upon 
world affairs. 

559. The Position of France. France was greatly weakened 
by the Franco-Prussian War, as Prussia took Alsace-Lorraine 
from her and made it a part of the new German Empire. France 
thus lost valuable coal fields and important industries in this 
territory. But France set out to recover her industrial power 
and soon became a strong nation again. She established herself 
as a republic (for the third time), and has maintained that form 
of government to the present day. In the meantime she built 
up a strong army, knowing that Germany had established the 
largest and most powerful military organization in the world. 
Both Germany and France were prepared for a war that might 
again bring them into conflict. 

560. Colonial Expansion. A few years after the unification 
of Germany, a new period of colonial expansion began. Busi¬ 
ness men of England, France, and Germany took their 
manufactured products to the markets of Asia and Africa, where 
they received in exchange wheat, sugar, cotton, minerals, rubber, 
and other raw materials which were needed in Europe. This 
exchange of goods led to a desire on the part of European nations 
for control of the productive areas in these two backward con¬ 
tinents. A race for colonies followed, and by the close of the 
nineteenth century only Morocco in Africa, and Japan, China, 
Turkey, and Persia in Asia retained their independence. Great 
Britain had absorbed many new areas; France, Germany, and 


408 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Italy had gained lands, chiefly in Africa; and Russia had ex¬ 
tended her boundaries in Asia. 

561. Alliances Formed. In the struggle for supremacy no 
European nation could, without the aid of other countries, accom¬ 
plish what it had set out to do. Before the close of the nineteenth 
century, the chief nations of Europe had become divided into 
two groups. The new German Empire formed a league, the 
Triple Alliance, with Austria and Italy, the other two central 
powers of Europe. Russia and France became united in the 
Dual Alliance. These groups were about equally balanced in 
power, and they soon set up a watch upon each other to prevent 
any increase in territory or influence which would upset this 
balance of power. Great Britain at first did not join either 
alliance. 

562. Triple Entente. William II of Germany, being deter¬ 
mined that his empire should become a great colonial power, 
built up an immense navy. Immediately Great Britain began 
to increase her navy. Moreover, she at once strengthened her 
position by entering into an alliance with France and Russia. 
This alliance was known as the Triple Entente. 

563. Germany Enters Turkey. About this time, Germany 
fixed her attention upon Turkey, the one territory which she 
could reach by a land route. The Turkish Empire had been 
crumbling for a great many years, and, at the beginning of the 
present century, it seemed about to disappear. Great Britain, 
France, Italy, Austria, and Russia had, at various times, come 
into possession of portions of the Turkish Empire, and these 
great powers, as well as the smaller states, Serbia, Roumania, 
Greece, and Bulgaria, were hopefully waiting to add more of 
the Turkish lands to their dominions. 

564. Berlin-Bagdad Railroad. Germany entered Turkey and 
with her capital obtained control of nearly all the railroads. 
Finally, she acquired a charter to extend the railroads through 
Asia Minor to Bagdad, on the Tigris River. This would give 
Germany control of the transportation system and the resources 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


409 


of Asia Minor, and would leave her in possession of Turkey if 
that nation should pass out of existence. Moreover, it was the 
intention of Germany to connect Berlin with Bagdad and thus 
control a land route from central Europe to the East. The 
Triple Entente (Great Britain, France and Russia) planned to 
stop the building of the railroad. They protested to Turkey, 
but as that country approved of the project, it looked for a time 
as though Germany would succeed in linking Berlin and Bagdad. 

565. Serbia Prevents Completion of Railroad. An obstacle, 
however, stood in the way of German accomplishment. Through 
the little state of Serbia lay the railroad which connected Berlin 
with Constantinople, and, according to German plans, this was 
a necessary section of the Berlin-Bagdad line. For a quarter 
of a century Serbia had been exceedingly hostile toward Austria, 
because that nation had occupied Bosnia, one of the Balkan 
provinces, which Serbia had wished to annex. Race differences 
and trade difficulties had increased the antagonism, until it 
seemed quite certain to the Triple Entente that Serbia would 
not allow a German enterprise within her borders. Serbia thus 
became the center of European interest, because she blocked 
German advance toward the southeast. Bitterness between 
Serbia and Austria, her powerful neighbor, steadily increased 
until the situation became so tense that the slightest incident 
might lead to war. 

566. Archduke Francis Ferdinand Assassinated. On June 
28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian 
throne, and his wife were assassinated as they drove through 
the streets of Serajevo, Bosnia, during a Serb demonstration. 
After a month’s investigation of the affair, Austria resolved to 
punish Serbia, and on July 28, 1914, declared war upon her small 
neighbor. 

567. The World War Begins. About this time, Russia be¬ 
gan to mobilize in defense of Serbia, and Germany declared 
war against her. The Kaiser’s government then made certain 
demands upon France, which that country refused to consider. 


410 


A. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 













































































woodrow Wilson’s administration 


411 


Thereupon the Germans turned their armies for a sudden in¬ 
vasion of France. 

568. War Spreads in Europe. The German Emperor, plan¬ 
ning a swift defeat of France, sent his troops across the border 
into Belgium, breaking the treaty by which the neutrality of 
that little nation had been guaranteed by all the European 
powers. Years previously England had joined the other 
European powers (including Germany) in agreeing to defend 
Belgium in case her territory should be invaded. Great Britain 
remained true to her treaty pledges, and at once went to the 
assistance of Belgium. Thus, within ten days after Austria’s 
declaration of war against Serbia, the Triple Entente and the 
Triple Alliance, with the exception of Italy, who came in later, 
faced each other in the most terrible conflict in history—Ger¬ 
many and Austria, the Central Powers, on one side, and Russia, 
France, Great Britain, with Belgium and Serbia, the Allied 
Powers, on the other. A little later Turkey and Bulgaria joined 
the Central Powers, and before the end of the war, the United 
States and Italy, besides fifteen minor nations, joined the cause 
of the Allied Powers. 

Although the Central Powers were largely outnumbered, the 
conflict was not an uneven one. The German Emperor 
had established an immense army, which was the largest and 
best-trained in Europe. Strong fortifications were built on 
the borders of the Empire, and everything was in readiness in 
the event that war should come. 

569. Death of Pope Pius X. In the midst of the preparations 
for the great continental war, the illustrious Pope Pius X died 
(August 20, 1914) with the words, “Together in one—all things 
in Christ” on his lips. He was in the eightieth year of his life 
and the twelfth of his pontificate. To see millions of his children, 
the heirs of nineteen centuries of Christianity, entering upon 
war hastened the Holy Father’s end. 

No Pope of modern times has effected so many wise changes 
in the internal government of the Church. His decrees on 


412 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


frequent Communion and on the First Communion of children 
will immortalize the Great Pius X as the “Pope of the People” 
and the “Pope of the Blessed Sacrament”; while his last message 

to Christendom, which was a 
prayer and an appeal for 
peace, will proclaim him to 
future generations as the 
“Pope of Peace.” 

570. Election of Benedict 
XV. The illustrious Pius X 
was laid to rest but a short 
time when the assembled con¬ 
clave of Cardinals elected 
(November 3), as his succes¬ 
sor, Cardinal della Chiesa, 
Pope Benedict XV. The new 
pontiff's first apostolic bene¬ 
diction sent to any foreign 
country was for America. He expressed the hope that our 
country's attitude in favor of peace, together with the prayers 
raised to the Almighty throughout the world, would procure 
peace for the warring nations of Europe. 

THE UNITED STATES PROCLAIMS NEUTRALITY 

571. Neutrality Proclamation. From the moment war began 
in Europe, it became apparent that the natural sympathies 
and desires of the alien-born citizens of the United States 
threatened our country’s neutrality. Therefore, on August 
14, 1914, President Wilson issued a proclamation in which he 
advised all American citizens to “act and speak in the true 
spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fair¬ 
ness and friendliness to all concerned.” In taking this position, 
our President followed the policy which had been established 
by Washington in his famous proclamation of neutrality—the 





woodrow Wilson’s administration 413 

policy of keeping out of the quarrels among the nations of 
Europe. But, difficult as it was in Washington’s day to main¬ 
tain neutrality, now it proved even more difficult. The 
United States had advanced from a weak nation, separated 
from Europe by slow means of travel and communication, to 
a world power with possessions and interests extending to all 
parts of the globe. Steamships, cables, mails, and wireless 
telegraphy held us in close relationship with all nations of the 
world. 

572. War Affects Commerce of the United States. The war, 
at first, had a depressing effect on our commerce. We were 
cut off from the European markets for our goods as well as from 
the sources of raw materials for our factories. But the nations 
at war needed supplies for their armies and their civil popula¬ 
tions, and we soon built up an immense trade with Great Britain 
and France in food, clothing, and war supplies. 

573. Great Britain Interferes with Our Commerce. It must 
be remembered that Great Britain was supreme on the sea. 
This naval supremacy gave her a great advantage over her 
enemies; in fact, it was one of the leading causes of Germany’s 
defeat. Shortly after the war began, the British navy drove all 
German ships from the ocean, capturing the merchantmen and 
destroying the raiders which attempted to interfere with the 
commerce of the Allied Powers. With her navy Great Britain 
ruled the commerce of the world. She maintained a blockade 
of German ports, seized neutral ships bound for these ports or 
for ports near Germany, and took them into her harbors, 
where they were searched for supplies intended for Germany. 
Against this action the United States protested, demanding that 
such practices be discontinued. Great Britain, however, con¬ 
tinued her seizures, justifying her action on the ground that 
goods bound for neutral countries close to Germany would 
eventually reach the enemy and help her to carry on the war. 

574. Germany Opens Submarine Warfare. Germany, finding 
herself cut off from supplies, determined to destroy British 


414 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


commerce by the use of submarines. In February, 1915, she 
declared the British coast in a state of blockade, and asserted 
that her submarines would sink British merchant vessels 
wherever found on the high seas, and that neutral vessels 
attempting to reach enemy ports would be in danger. Accord¬ 
ing to international law it had been agreed that warships would 
not destroy merchant vessels belonging to the enemy without 
making provision for the safety of passengers and crew. Ger¬ 
many claimed that the submarine blockade, to be effective, 
necessitated the sinking of a ship with the cargo. This meant 
that the lives of the passengers and crew would be imperiled, 
for the submarine could not take the victims on board and 
could not provide a means of getting them to shore. 

575. The Lusitania Sunk. The United States immediately 
sent a reply to the German submarine proclamation, saying that 
she hoped and expected that the German government would 
“give assurance that American citizens and their vessels will 
not be molested by the naval forces of Germany otherwise than 
by visit and search.” American citizens continued to travel 
on American vessels and on those of belligerent nations while 
Germany carried on her submarine campaign. On May 7, 1915, 
a German submarine torpedoed and sank, without warning, 
the British passenger vessel, the Lusitania , killing over a 
thousand men, women, and children, including more than one 
hundred American citizens. 

576. Germany Promises Not to Sink Merchant Vessels 
Without Warning. The people of the United States were horri¬ 
fied by this act of Germany, and indignation became intense. 
President Wilson in a few days sent to the German government 
a note in which he insisted that American citizens had the right 
under international law to travel wherever legitimate business 
called them; that Germany must make reparation for the lives 
and property destroyed; and that submarine attacks on 
American lives and American ships must cease. Germany’s 
reply was unsatisfactory. President Wilson then sent a 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


415 


second note, and in answer to this, Germany promised to 
make reparation for the lives and property she had 
destroyed; she promised also not to sink merchant vessels 
without warning and to provide for the safety of passen¬ 
gers whenever such ships were sunk. Later, Germany decided 
to withdraw this promise. 

577. Political Campaign of 1916. While this exchange of 
notes was in progress, our country was forced to turn its attention 
to a presidential election. The Republicans and the Progres¬ 
sives held their conventions in Chicago at the same time, and 
many persons hoped that the parties would unite and elect a 
Republican president. The Republicans, however, selected 
Charles E. Hughes, associate justice of the Supreme Court, as 
their candidate, while the Progressives gave the nomination to 
Theodore Roosevelt. When Mr. Roosevelt declined, Mr. 
Hughes received the endorsement of the Progressives. The 
Democrats held their convention in St. Louis and renominated 
Mr. Wilson. In the campaign that followed, President Wilson’s 
policies, both domestic and foreign, were severely criticized by 
the Republicans, but a majority of the people approved them, 
and Mr. Wilson was reelected. 

THE UNITED STATES ENTERS THE WAR 

578. Submarine Warfare Renewed. On January 31, 1917, 
the German ambassador, Count von Bernstorff, handed to 
the American Secretary of State a note in which the German 
government withdrew its promise not to sink merchant ships 
without warning and to protect the lives and property of neutrals. 
This action was explained on the ground that Germany was 
forced to use the only means in her possession to shorten the 
war, and, therefore, after February 1, 1916, would resume her 
submarine warfare, sinking at sight any vessel, neutrals in¬ 
cluded, appearing in zones around Great Britain, France, Italy, 
and in the Mediterranean Sea. 


416 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


579. President Wilson Breaks Off Diplomatic Relations with 
Germany, and Arms Merchant Ships. Upon receiving this 
note, President Wilson broke off all communications with Ger¬ 
many, recalled our ambassador from Berlin, and dismissed the 
German ambassador at Washington. At this time our govern¬ 
ment had no desire to enter war against Germany, but it was 
determined to exercise its rights upon the sea. President 
Wilson, therefore, asked the consent of Congress, to place guns 
upon all merchant ships of the United States, hoping that this 
would cause Germany to cease her attacks. 

580. War Declared (April 6, 1917). On April 2, 1917, Presi¬ 
dent Wilson called Congress to assemble in joint session. In a 
memorable address he reviewed the deeds of Germany, telling 
of her submarine warfare, her intrigues against American peace 
and industry, and of the plots in Mexico to stir up enmity against 
our country. He advised “that the Congress declare the recent 
course of the Imperial German Government to be, in fact, 
nothing less than war against the Government and the people 
of the United States.” After a few days of debate, Congress, 
on April 6, 1917 (Good Friday), declared that a condition of 
war existed between Germany and the United States. 

581. Council of National Defense. Even before the United 
States had entered the war, Congress had authorized the Presi¬ 
dent to appoint a Council of National Defense, which was to 
consist of six cabinet members and seven civilians who were 
selected because of their record as organizers. It was the 
duty of this Council to investigate the industries and resources 
of the United States and to recommend to the President the 
means by which the railroads, waterways, production of needed 
supplies, etc., might be developed for the greater security and 
welfare of our country. Cooperating with this Council were 
various boards and commissions, the members of which were 
recognized leaders in business, industry, and science. During 
the war these men, many of whom would accept only one dollar 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


417 


a year as salary, rendered invaluable service to the government 
in the solution of the special problems which arose, such as 
obtaining raw materials and supplies, directing labor, and pro¬ 
viding for aircraft production, munitions, and transportation. 

582. Army Draft Bill. The first problem confronting the 
United States after the declaration of war was that of increasing 
the army. For this purpose Congress in May, 1917, passed a 
selective draft law which provided that the National Army 
should be chosen from among all men between the ages of 



SETTING-UP EXERCISES AT CAMP BENNING, GEORGIA 


twenty-one and thirty-one years inclusive. On June 5, which 
had been set aside as registration day, over ten million young 
men went to their voting places and registered. Some of these 
were exempted from active service because they had dependents 
or because they were engaged in industries essential to the 
winning of the war; others were rejected because of physical 
or mental defects. An amendment to the Army Draft Bill 
(August, 1918) extended the draft age to include all men between 
the ages of eighteen and forty-five, making available for mili¬ 
tary service an additional thirteen million men. Long before 




418 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



the draft many thousand volunteers had been accepted for 
service in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. These, together 
with the regular army, and the men who were selected from the 
draft lists, made up a total armed force of 4,800,000 men, of whom 
4,000,000 served in the Army. More than two million American 
soldiers reached France, and of this number two out of every 
three saw active service in battle. Our losses in killed, wounded, 
prisoners, and missing were more than 225,000 men. 


TROOPS ON A TRANSPORT BOUND FOR FRANCE 

583. Problem of Transportation. The transportation of 
soldiers and supplies to Europe was the most serious task which 
our government had to face. In the year preceding our entrance 
into the war, Congress had created the Shipping Board for the 
purpose of increasing the number of our merchant ships. This 
board had under its control a capital of $50,000,000 with which 
to build or buy ships, and had already begun its work of con¬ 
struction. Immediately after declaring war, Congress had 
given to the President the power to purchase or construct ships 
almost without limit. Shipyards throughout the country were 



woodrow Wilson’s administration 


419 


brought into service, new yards were opened, and the building 
of ships was begun on an enormous scale. 

At the request of the Allied Powers, the United States, a few 
weeks after the declaration of war, began to send troops overseas, 
but the movement was very slow because of the lack of troop 
ships. Within a year, however, an immense American transport 
fleet was developed. For this purpose, ships were secured from 
every possible source. In the autumn of 1917, the German 



A FORMATION OF NAVAL CADETS 


vessels which had been seized in our harbors came into service; 
in the following spring, vessels were chartered from various 
nations scattered over the world. These, with the great number 
of new ships which had been rapidly constructed in our shipyards, 
carried men and supplies to Europe. British aid in the trans¬ 
portation of troops and supplies was greatly increased, and by 
July, 1918, more than 10,000 American soldiers were landing 
in Europe each day. 

To reach Europe it was necessary to pass through the zone 
in which Germany was carrying on her unrestricted submarine 








420 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


warfare, but in spite of the fact that more than two million 
American soldiers were transported through this zone, not one 
troop ship, under American convoy, was lost on its eastward 
voyage. Credit for this splendid record must be given to the 
United States Navy, which convoyed the troop transports 
through the submarine zone, surrounding them with a screen 
of rapid destroyers which protected them from submarine 
attacks. 

584. The President’s Appeal to Labor. Besides the armed forces 
at the battle front, on the seas, and in the camps, a large portion 
of the population of the United States was engaged in war work 
of one sort or another. These men and women produced food, 
clothing, ships, guns, and ammunition, and were, in the words 
of President Wilson, “no less a part of the army that is in France 
than the men beneath the battle flags.” To these workers the 
President appealed for support of the government in its task 
of winning the war. In response, organized labor throughout 
the country pledged its loyalty, promising to do all in its power 
to prevent strikes during the war. Mr. Samuel Gompers, Presi¬ 
dent of the American Federation of Labor, was appointed chair¬ 
man of the Advisory Commission on Labor. A National War 
Labor Board was created for the purpose of adjusting by arbi¬ 
tration any difficulties arising between employers and workers 
in the industries necessary for the conduct of the war. Former 
President Taft and Mr. Frank P. Walsh were appointed joint 
chairmen of this board. 

585. Conservation of Food. During the early months of the 
war, it became evident that our food supplies must be conserved 
and their prices regulated. Congress, therefore, passed the 
Food Control Bill, which forbade the restriction of supplies by 
destroying or hoarding food or by limiting the facilities for its 
production or transportation. Mr. Herbert C. Hoover, who 
had been head of the relief work in Belgium, was appointed 
national food administrator. 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


421 


Throughout the country a campaign was carried on to impress 
upon the people the necessity of economy in the use of food. 
“Wheatless” and “meatless” days were established in homes, 
hotels, and restaurants, with 
the result that much wheat 
and meat were conserved. 

By means of public speakers 
and posters, efforts were made 
through the schools, com¬ 
munity houses, clubs, and 
business establishments to 
prevent waste of food and to 
increase its production by the 
cultivation of small private 
gardens. 

586. Railroads. The trans¬ 
portation of troops and sup¬ 
plies to the various parts of 
our country presented serious 
difficulties. In April, 1917, 
the executives of the great 
railways had united their 
lines in one vast system for 
the purpose of increasing their service to the government. This 
plan, however, failed to meet the conditions created by the war. 
Congestion of traffic occurred along all lines, particularly in the 
East. Cars loaded with food and other supplies stood on the 
tracks for days, waiting to be moved. In December, 1917, 
therefore, President Wilson issued a proclamation by which the 
railroads were placed under government control and operation. 
Mr. William G. McAdoo, Secretary of the Treasury, was made 
Director-general of all the railroads. During the following year 
the government assumed control of express, .telephone, and 
telegraph companies, and the cable lines. 



HERBERT HOOVER 



422 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

587. Raising Money to Win the War. The World War was 

the most costly event in history. In the four years of its dura¬ 
tion (1914-1918), the total cost to all the countries involved 
amounted to $186,000,000,000. Of this sum the United States, 
in two years (April, 1917 to April, 1919), spent almost $22,000,- 
000,000 which is considerably more than $1,000,000 an hour. 
As a part of this huge expenditure, our government made loans 
to the Allies at the rate of nearly a half million dollars an hour, 
a total of $10,000,000,000. 

To secure funds for meeting these enormous demands, heavy 
taxes were inforced on incomes, on inheritances, and on the excess 
profits of industries. Besides these, four loans, amounting to 
nearly $17,000,000,000, were floated by our government at 
various times during the war. Interest-bearing bonds, called 
Liberty Loan bonds, were issued in large and small denomina¬ 
tions, the smallest being fifty dollars. The people of the United 
States were asked to express their patriotism by purchasing these 
bonds. It is estimated that there were 4,500,000 subscribers 
to the first Liberty Loan and 21,000,000 to the Fourth. After 
the close of the war, more money was required, and a fifth, or 
Victory Loan, was issued. This provided for $4,500,000,000 
and was largely oversubscribed. Another large amount was 
raised through the sale of War Savings Stamps. These stamps, 
which were sold at twenty-five cents each, proved most attrac¬ 
tive to school children and small wage earners. 

588. Contributions to Welfare Organizations. Aside from 
the heavy taxes and the immense loans made to the government, 
the people gave millions of dollars for the relief of sick and 
wounded soldiers, sailors, and marines, and for the care of the 
physical and mental health of those who were in the camps at 
home and in Europe. At the outset of the war President Wilson 
had declared the Red Cross to be “the officially recognized 
agency of voluntary effort in behalf of the armed forces of the 
nation and for the administration of relief.” This association 
did splendid work through its hospitals for sick and wounded 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


423 


soldiers of the American army in France, its care of the destitute 
women and children of the devastated regions of France and 
Belgium, and its rest houses, canteens, and recreation huts for 
the soldiers of all nations at war with Germany. To carry on 
this work, the people of the United States contributed more than 
$100,000,000 to the American Red Cross. 

Besides the Red Cross, other social and welfare organizations 
worked together to keep the boys in the camps and in the trenches 



WELFARE ORGANIZATION LEADERS 

(On the extreme left is Bishop Muldoon and on the right, W. P. Parlin, 

both Knights of Columbus) 


fit for their great task of winning the war. Among these organ¬ 
izations were the National Catholic War Council, the Knights 
of Columbus, the Young Men’s Christian Association, the 
Young Women’s Christian Association, the Salvation Army, the 
Jewish Welfare Relief, and the American Library Association. 
“Drives for funds” were conducted by these organizations, and 
the generous response of the people enabled them to furnish 
rest houses, canteens, recreation huts, reading matter, and other 
forms of entertainment and comforts for the men in the service. 






424 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


589. The Insurance Act. In October, 1917, Congress passed 
an insurance act which provided for the appropriation of large 
sums of money for the following purposes: (1) to pay allowances 
during the war to the dependents of soldiers, sailors, and marines; 
(2) to make compensation to service men who were disabled 
in the war, and to the dependents of those who might die from 
injuries or disease contracted in the war; and (3) to provide an 
inexpensive system of insurance for those in active service. It 
was believed that this provision for dependents would relieve 
from worry the men in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps and 
thus make them better soldiers, sailors, and marines. 

590. Airplanes. The airplane had become so important as 
an instrument of war equipment that the Allied Powers, imme¬ 
diately after our country had declared war against Ger¬ 
many, urged the United States to send 4,500 American aviators 
to France within a year. At this time our air service was very 
small; we had only two aviation fields, fifty-five old-fashioned 
airplanes, and about twelve hundred officers, students, and 
enlisted men. Congress, therefore, passed the Aviation Bill, 
which provided for an expenditure of $640,000,000 for the con¬ 
struction of airplanes and the training of aviators. 

Before the end of war nearly 12,000 airplanes and 19,000 
airplane engines of American manufacture were shipped over¬ 
seas, one-third of which were used in the war zone. During 
the nineteen months of the war the Air Service personnel had 
increased to nearly 200,000 men; forty-five squadrons had been 
engaged at the front, where they had played important parts 
in the battles of Chateau-Thierry, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse- 
Argonne. 

591. The American Army in France. We have seen that the 
United States, a few weeks after the declaration of war, began 
to send troops overseas. General John J. Pershing, who had 
become well known in connection with our expedition into 
Mexico, was appointed Commander-in-chief of the American 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


425 


Expeditionary Forces. General Pershing and his staff arrived 
in Paris in June, 1917, and immediately entered into consulta¬ 
tion with the commanders-in-chief of the armies of the Allied 
Powers for the purpose of considering the most effective means 
of combining their forces. It was decided that the American 
soldiers, after their arrival in France, should have two months 
of training before entering the line, and one month in a quiet 
sector before going into 
battle. Though some of the 
Americans were under fire 
during their last period of 
training in the trenches, it 
was not until the spring of 
1918 that they saw their first 
actual warfare. 

592. German Offensive in 
March. The German High 
Command decided to make a 
final effort to win a complete 
victory over the Allied Powers 
before the United States 
could transport a large army 
to Europe. A revolution 
had occurred in Russia, the 
Czar had been overthrown, 
and the government had passed into the hands of the Bolsheviki, 
who had made peace with the Germans. This event released 
from the Russian front a million German soldiers, who were soon 
transferred to the western line in France. General von Luden- 
dorff, in command of the German armies in France and Belgium, 
planned to break through the Allies’ line, capture Amiens and 
the French ports along the west coast, and then turn her guns 
against Paris, bringing the war to a speedy close. The great 
offensive which was to accomplish this victory continued over a 





426 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


period of almost four months (March 21, 1918 to July 18, 1918) 
and included five terrific assaults. 

593. First Phase of German Offensive. The first objective 
of the Germans was Amiens. To gain this city an attack was 
made upon a sector held entirely by the British, who were forced 
to fall back from their position. In their retreat, the British 
were forced to move toward Amiens. The Allies did not have 
enough available troops to guard the Oise valley, which is on 
the direct road to Paris. The Germans immediately gave up 
the idea of reaching Amiens, and turned toward Paris. A small 
French army, which was quickly brought into the valley, fought 
desperately to check the advance of the Germans, but, greatly 
outnumbered, was pushed back, foot by foot, until reenforce¬ 
ments arrived. The Germans made one more desperate attempt 
to break through the French lines, but they were repulsed. 
Field Marshal von Hindenburg then turned his attention once 
more to Amiens. 

When the first phase of the German offensive was at its 
height (March 28, 1918), the Allies came to an agreement to place 
all their forces under the supreme command of one man, Marshal 
Ferdinand Foch, a leading French strategist and a devout 
Catholic. On the following day General Pershing placed at the 
disposal of Marshal Foch all of the American forces to be used 
as the great Marshal might decide. The Americans not already 
at the front soon began their march to take part in the battle, 
and from then to the end of the war were joined with the French 
and British all along the line from the North Sea to Switzerland. 

594. First Battle for Americans. In April, 1918, the first 
division of Americans had gone into line in the Montdidier 
section of the battle front. Confident of the results of their 
training, the men were eager for the test. On May 28, they 
attacked the Germans and completely routed them. They 
captured the town of Cantigny, taking more than two hundred 
prisoners. 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


427 


By terrific counter-attacks the Germans tried to regain the 
town, but the Americans held it steadfastly. This was the first 
genuine battle experience of. the American troops, and their 
brilliant action demonstrated their splendid fighting qualities 
under hard battle conditions. 

595. Soldiers and Marines at Chateau-Thierry. The Ger¬ 
mans began the third movement in their great offensive (May 
27, 1918) by crossing the Aisne River and advancing rapidly 
toward Paris. For three days they pressed forward, taking 
everything before them, and on the fourth day they were within 
forty miles of the city. Here, at Chateau-Thierry, they were 
halted by American soldiers and marines in one of the fiercest 
battles of the war. Side by side the soldiers and marines fought, 
their machine guns, rifles and shrapnel making inroads upon the 
enemy until, finding further advances impossible, the Germans 
turned and fled into the woods. The Americans followed and 
raked the woods with their machine guns and rifles to prevent 
the Germans from moving toward Paris. 

During the engagement at Chateau-Thierry, a single regiment 
of the Third Division of Americans gained one of the greatest 
victories in our military history. A large force of German 
infantry attempted to advance under a powerful artillery fire. 
The Americans, firing in three directions, met their attacks and 
succeeded in throwing the Germans into confusion. In this 
engagement our troops captured nearly six hundred German 
prisoners. 

596. Fighting in Belleau Wood. The American troops had 
played an important part in the protection of Paris by driving 
the Germans into Belleau Wood. But in this wood the Germans 
had established themselves in a position which they considered 
impregnable. In the jungle of matted underbrush and heavy 
foliage, they had planted nest after nest of machine guns and 
had prepared to defend their position against any attack. But 
Paris was not safe and the battle of Chateau-Thierry was not 


428 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


completely won while the Germans held the wood. It was 
necessary, therefore, to drive the enemy from their position, and 
this task fell to the American marines. 

In the history of the Marine Corps there is no battle which 
compares with that in Belleau Wood. For almost a month 
(June, 1918), the marines fought day and night, without relief, 
often without water, and for days without hot rations. Greatly 
outnumbered by the Germans, they fought on until they had 
cleared the wood of every German soldier. Their losses were 
enormous; more than half their number were killed or badly 
wounded, but their heroism and persistence turned the tide of 
battle and won for them an imperishable fame. With this 
victory the success of the Allies began. 

597. Counter-Offensive Begun by Marshal Foch. About 
two weeks after the defeat of the Germans in Belleau Wood, 
General von Ludendorff began the fifth and last drive of his 
offensive (July 15, 1918). The attack was made from Chateau- 
Thierry eastward along a sixty-five mile front. For three days 
the German armies advanced, crossing the Marne River at 
several places. But, on the fourth day, they were stopped by 
the strategy of Marshal Foch in the second battle of the Marne. 

While the Germans were trying to force their way through the 
lines of the Allies, Marshal Foch was preparing for his great 
counter-offensive. Large masses of troops were gathered, 
including the best French and foreign regiments and many 
Americans. On July 18 a heavy blow was launched against 
the Germans all along the line from Chateau-Thierry on the 
Marne to the Aisne River northwest of Soissons. The Germans, 
taken wholly by surprise, were thrown into confusion and forced 
to retreat. Thousands of prisoners were taken, with hundreds 
of heavy cannon, many machine guns, and large quantities of 
ammunition. 

It was a master stroke of the great Marshal Foch and the 
first of a series of great victories which led to the complete defeat 
of the German forces. From that day on, for more than three 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


429 


months, Foch continued his attacks, driving against the German 
line, first at one point, then at another, his armies steadily 
advancing along a battle front that extended from the North 
Sea to St. Mihiel. 

598. Americans at St. Mihiel. In September, 1918, the 
Americans, under command of General Pershing, opened their 
first great offensive. About 600,000 troops had been con¬ 
centrated for an assault upon the strong German defenses at 
St. Mihiel. In the early morning, after four hours of artillery 
fire, seven divisions of Americans advanced through the dense 
fog, attacking the enemy on two sides. The Germans, demor¬ 
alized by the powerful assaults, fell back from their position, 
yielding to the Americans 16,000 prisoners, hundreds of guns, 
and a great quantity of supplies. The Americans had not only 
gained the city of St. Mihiel, but had taken two hundred square 
miles of territory, releasing from enemy domination the inhab¬ 
itants of many small villages. Of this American success, General 
Pershing said, “The Allies found they had a formidable army 
to aid them and the enemy learned finally that he had one to 
reckon with.” 

599. The Meuse-Argonne Battle. Marshal Foch had now 
planned a general attack upon the German armies all along the 
battle front. In this attack the American troops were to direct 
their operations against the important railroad communica¬ 
tions of the Germans through the city of Sedan. 

Sedan was the principal gateway by which the German forces, 
with their four years’ accumulation of war supplies, could escape. 
If these lines of communication could be cut, disaster would fall 
upon all the German armies in France and Belgium. 

The American troops, after the capture of St. Mihiel, were 
transferred to the area between the Meuse River and the western 
edge of the Argonne forest. General Pershing, certain that the 
German general staff would do everything in its power to hold 
its lines of communication, planned to use all of the American 
divisions in the Meuse-Argonne battle. 


430 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



On September 26, the Americans drove through the barbed 
wire entanglements and across “no man’s land.” In three days 
they had pushed the Germans back over seven miles of territory 

and had taken 10,000 
prisoners. The best 
German troops were 
thrown against the 
Americans, but were 
unable to stop the 
advance. Through the 
Argonne forest they 
fought their way, 
where the ravines, 
hills, and elaborate 
defenses, hidden from 
view by dense thick¬ 
ets, gave an almost 
impregnable position 
to the German army. 
Against machine guns, 
gas, and heavy artil¬ 
lery fire, the Ameri¬ 
cans pressed on, and 
by October 10, had 
cleared the Argonne 
forest of the enemy. 

600. The Armistice. This final drive of the Americans in 
the Meuse-Argonne battle was one of the immediate causes of 
the downfall of Germany. In the words of General Pershing, 
in his report to Secretary of War Baker: 

“The final advance in the Meuse-Argonne front was begun 
on November 1. . . . On the second . . . the movement . . . 
became an impetuous onslaught that could not be stayed. . . . 
On the sixth, a division of the First Corps reached a point on 
the Meuse opposite Sedan, twenty-five miles from our line of 


GRAVE OF AMERICA’S UNKNOWN SOLDIER AT 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 

















woodrow Wilson’s administration 


431 


departure. The strategical goal which was our highest hope 
was gained. We had cut the enemy’s main line of communica¬ 
tions and nothing but surrender or an armistice could save his 
army from complete disaster.” General von Ludendorff chose 
an armistice, which was signed on November 11, 1918, and thus 
the World War was brought to an end. 

601. Fighting Outside the Lines. No history of the World 
War is complete without some slight tribute to the men who 
did their fighting outside the battle lines. These were the 
architects, doctors, lawyers, engineers, city-planners, con¬ 
tractors, builders, and scientists, who, in answer to the call of 
our government, volunteered where they best might serve in the 
winning of the war. They were men from every profession, 
from every walk of life, many of them far beyond the draft age, 
and all experts in their respective callings. Their task was 
tremendous and most important. 

To care for the suddenly increased Army, new camps were 
necessary. Within three months, sites were selected, contracts 
awarded, and shelter provided for 430,000 men. The work 
of construction kept pace with the demands of the government, 
and before the close of the war, about forty large camps, as well 
as smaller projects, had been completed, providing accommo¬ 
dations for more than 2,000,000 men. Each camp was a city 
in itself; besides the barracks, it included mess halls, roads, 
walks, electric lights, water systems, sewers, a theater, a post 
office, store buildings, hospitals, stables, and garages. 

The list of construction projects is a long one and includes in 
our country the investment of millions of dollars in warehouses, 
terminal piers, wharves, forts, arsenals, storage depots for ammu¬ 
nition, power plants, munition plants, gas plants, acid plants, 
and army supply bases. In Europe, miles of roads and railways 
were constructed, as well as immense wharves, storage depots, 
barracks, and hospitals. 

The medical corps deserves special praise for its work in the 
camps of our country, in the hospitals in Europe, and at the 


432 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


battle front. Men and women of high professional standing 
left their offices and entered the service, where they played 
an important part in aiding the sick and wounded troops. 

602. American Catholics in the World War. The Catholics 
of the United States were the first of the religious bodies of our 
country to offer their services to the government. On April 
18, 1917, twelve days after the declaration of war, the Arch¬ 
bishops of the Catholic Church, who were assembled for their 



RETURNED SOLDIERS PARADING IN NEW YORK 


annual meeting at the Catholic University in Washington, drew 
up a pledge of loyalty and support which they sent to President 
Wilson. In this pledge they affirmed that not only the Hier¬ 
archy, priests, and nuns, but all the flock, nearly twenty million 
Catholics, stood ready to cooperate in every way possible with 
our President and our government “for the preservation, the 
progress, and the triumph of our beloved country.” 

The pledge of the Archbishops was kept. From the begin¬ 
ning of the war to its close, Catholics throughout the nation 











433 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 



accepted their full share of work and sacrifice. Parishes were 
organized for every war activity and, under the leadership of 
the Parish Priest, cooperated with our government in every 
way possible. In some localities the Catholic Church became 
the center of all war activities. Inspired by the zealous patri¬ 
otism of the Parish Priests, Catholics and non-Catholics 
united their whole energy in the great work of winning the war. 

603. Knights of 
Columbus Pledge 
Their Support. 

Even before the 
pledge of the Hier¬ 
archy had been sent 
to the President, the 
Knights of Columbus, 
meeting in Washing¬ 
ton, had passed a 
resolution promising 
the patriotic devotion 
of their 400,000 mem¬ 
bers and offering to 
the President and Congress their continued support. Two 


AMERICAN SOLDIERS AT A EUROPEAN MONASTERY 


months later this organization opened a campaign for a million 
dollar fund to be known as the Knights of Columbus W ar C amp 
Fund, which was to be spent for religious and recreational pur¬ 
poses for the benefit of all men in the service. 

604. National Catholic War Council. Shortly after the 
United States had entered the war, Catholic societies from all 
parts of the country flooded Washington, with offers of service. 
It soon became evident that the Catholic problems arising out 
of the war could best be solved only through unity of action, 
and immediately steps were taken to coordinate Catholic activ¬ 
ities. Under the leadership of Reverend John J. Burke, ( . S. 1 ., 
and the patronage of Cardinals Gibbons, Farley, and O’Connell, 
official representatives of the clergy, the Catholic Societies and 








434 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


the Catholic Press Association met in Washington, in August, 
1917, for the purpose of forming a permanent organization 
that would insure such unity during the war. 

The final outcome of this meeting was the formation of the 
National Catholic War Council which, according to the plan 
proposed by Cardinal Gibbons, was composed of the following: 
(1) a Board of Archbishops, consisting of the fourteen Arch¬ 
bishops of the country, who assumed responsibility for all 
Catholic war work; (2) an administrative committee of four 
Bishops, which was to direct and control, with the aid of the 
Board of Archbishops, all Catholic activities during the war; 
and (3) an executive committee consisting of the four Bishops, 
six members of the committee on Knights of Columbus War 
Activities, and six members of the Committee on Special War 
Activities. To the Knights of Columbus Committee was 
assigned the task of providing recreation centers for enlisted 
men in the camps, both at home and overseas, while the Com¬ 
mittee on Special War Activities was placed in charge of all 
other matters. 

The Right Reverend P. J. Muldoon, D. D., Bishop of Rock¬ 
ford, was appointed chairman of the Administrative Committee 
of the National Catholic War Council. To him and to other 
Catholic leaders must be given the credit for the splendid suc¬ 
cess of Catholic endeavor during the war. In a very short 
period Bishop Muldoon had not only unified the work of all 
Catholic agencies, but had coordinated these agencies with 
the forces of other welfare organizations. His work was so 
well done that out of it has developed a permanent organization 
for national service, the National Catholic Welfare Council. 

605. Catholic Chaplains in the War. The chief problem of 
any war, from the viewpoint of Catholics, is that of safeguarding 
the immortal souls of those who go forth to give their lives to 
their country. The National Catholic War Council made this 
problem the starting point of its great work. Through its 
efforts, the Chaplains Bill was passed by Congress, increasing 
the number of chaplains in every regiment from one to three. 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


435 



Archbishop Patrick J. Hayes, of New York, was appointed 
as the Catholic chaplain bishop for the Army and Navy. 

An entire volume might be written upon the deeds of the 
Catholic chaplains who, by their companionship and inspiration, 
raised the morale not only of Catholic soldiers and sailors, but 
of all with whom they came 
into contact, thereby increas¬ 
ing the efficiency of the Army 
and Navy. In this short his¬ 
tory of the war, it will be 
understood, only a brief, gen¬ 
eral statement can be made 
of the invaluable service 
which these brave priests 
gave to God and their country. 

606. Chaplain’s Aid Asso¬ 
ciation. During the first 
month of the war, the Chap¬ 
lain’s Aid Association was 
founded by Reverend John J. 

Burke, C. S. P., for the pur¬ 
pose of furnishing to the 

Catholic chaplains in the 

Armv and Navv evervthina chaplain john o donnell, who won 
J J . . . the distinguished service medal 

necessary for their ministra¬ 
tions to the men in the service. The National Catholic War 
Council took over the direction of this association and made an 
appeal for aid to every Catholic in the country. People re¬ 
sponded most generously, sending money, altar linens, vestments, 
and religious articles to the association. An almost unending list 
of articles, ranging from reading matter and woolens to talking- 
machine records, made up the contribution of this association 
toward the winning of the war. 

607. Rehabilitation School Established. On May 1, 1919, 
the National Catholic War Council founded, at the Catholic 
University in Washington, D. C., a school for the training of 









436 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


soldiers and sailors who had been wounded in the service and 
who were thus unfitted for their former work. This was the 
first school of its kind, and its success made it a model for 
rehabilitation classes which were later established by the govern¬ 
ment. Four courses were offered to the wounded men—auto¬ 
mechanics, machine-shop work, electricity, and clerical work—- 
and several hundred men received instruction in the school. 
Applications for attendance poured in so rapidly that new 
buildings became a necessity, and in May, 1920, the new Rehab¬ 
ilitation School was completed. Besides the vocational training, 
a course in Civic Education is now given. The school has 
become a permanent feature of Catholic education in the United 
States. 

608. Service Clubs, Visitors’ Houses, Community Houses. 

The National Catholic War Council established the first Service 
Clubs for soldiers and sailors and organized Catholic men’s 
societies. After the Armistice these clubs became centers for 
men who desired information concerning employment, war risk 
insurance, hospital aid, and vocational training. 

The Catholic Women’s Societies, through the National 
Catholic War Council, built, equipped, and managed twelve 
Visitors’ Houses at the various camps throughout the country. 
Besides the Visitors’ Houses, the Catholic Women’s Societies 
established twenty-eight Community Houses. The Community 
Houses supervised the boarding homes, cafeterias, rest rooms, 
employment bureaus, and recreational and educational facilities 
which were offered to women engaged in war industries. 

609. Work of Catholic War Council in Europe. The National 
Catholic War Council began its social service work in Europe 
with the opening of the Etoile Service Club in Paris in January, 
1919. This club was established for the benefit of enlisted men 
in the Armies and Navies of the United States and those of the 
Allied Powers. Thousands of soldiers and sailors enjoyed the 
comforts it offered to them. 

610. National Catholic Welfare Council. Out of Catholic 
war work has developed a permanent national organization, 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 437 

the National Catholic Welfare Council. The purpose of this 
council is that of unifying all Catholic agencies of the country. 
Several departments have been established by the council, each 
of which is concerned with a particular problem. 

(1) Department of Education, which studies the problems and 
conditions which affect the work and development of 
Catholic schools; 

(2) Department of Social Welfare, which coordinates those 
activities which aim to improve social conditions; 

(3) Department of Press and Literature, which systematizes 
the work of publication; and 

(4) Department of Societies and Lay Activities, which aims to 
secure a more unified action among Catholic organizations. 

The voluntary association of archbishops and bishops, now 
known as the National Catholic Welfare Council, is not to be 
confused with a Council called by the Holy See and having- 
legislative power. It is most probable that the term “con¬ 
ference” will be chosen by the bishops as preferable to the word 
Council. This question, as well as others, was discussed by the 
Administrative Committee at a meeting held at Loyola Univer¬ 
sity, Chicago, in January, 1923. 

THE PEACE CONFERENCE AT VERSAILLES 

611. President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. While our armies 
were engaged on the battlefields, the people of the United 
States, aroused by the terrible loss in life, money, and property, 
raised a cry that this must be the last war, “the war to end 
wars.” A strong feeling arose in America that, in order to 
establish permanent peace, autocratic governments, immense 
armies and navies, secret treaties and hostile alliances must be 
abolished, and in their place must be formed a union among the 
nations of the world which would pledge itself to preserve peace 
and justice. 

President Wilson, as the spokesman of the American people, 
from time to time eloquently expressed this opinion. In calling 


438 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


upon Congress to take up arms against Germany, he had firmly 
declared that our quarrel was with the autocratic government 
of Germany, not with the people of that country, and that 
the United States desired no material gains. In his message 
to Congress on January 8, 1918, he presented a peace program 
of Fourteen Points, among which were the following: (1) abol¬ 
ition of secret treaties between nations, (2) absolute freedom 
of the seas, (3) equality of trade conditions among all nations, 
(4) reduction of national armaments, (5) impartial adjustment 
of colonial claims, (6) redrawing of the map of Europe, along 
lines of nationalities, (7) creation of a League of Nations. 

612. The Treaty of Peace. The Peace Conference met in 
Versailles, France, in December, 1918, and President Wilson, 
as head of the American delegation, took a leading part in the 
discussion and settlement of the peace terms. Although the 
President’s “Fourteen Points” became the basis of most of the 
claims laid before the conference, all of the victorious powers, 
with the exception of the United States, already had made 
secret treaties among themselves involving the distribution of 
German and Austrian territory. Great Britain, France, Russia, 
and Italy had agreed to divide the Turkish Empire among 
themselves in such a way that each power would gain the por¬ 
tion which it had long desired. Great Britain and Japan had 
planned to seize the German colonial possessions in the Far 
East. France demanded that Alsace-Lorraine be returned to 
her, and Italy wished to extend her boundaries toward the 
north and east so that she might gain control of the Adriatic 
Sea. 

President Wilson insisted that wherever changes were to be 
made in the map of Europe, the lines should be drawn in such 
manner that people of the same nationality would live under the 
same government. This was an ideal policy, but it was not 
acceptable to the European diplomats, who, having gained a 
victory, were determined to secure advantages for their respective 
countries. President Wilson finally accepted their distribution 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


439 


of territory, though in a modified form, in exchange for their 
acceptance of his plans for a League of Nations. 

613. The League of Nations. In April, 1919, the plan for 
the League of Nations was completed, and by the close of 
December, 1921, it had been accepted by fifty-one nations, 
although the United States had refused to ratify the plan. 

The chief purpose of the League was to prevent war, and 
for this purpose four important measures were planned by the 
nations composing it: (1) the reduction of armaments, (2) the 
abolition of secret treaties, (3) the protection of weak nations, 
and (4) the settlement, in the Court of International Justice, 
of disputes arising between the nations. 

614. Treaty of Peace Signed, June 28, 1919. When the 
Covenant of the League of Nations had been accepted by the 
delegates to the Peace Conference, work was begun upon the 
treaty of peace with Germany. Besides the five great powers, 
about twenty small states had either fought against the Central 
Powers or had broken off relations with them, and each of these 
now made claims against the vanquished nations. In May, 
1919, the treaty was completed and presented to the represen¬ 
tatives of Germany who had been called to Versailles. After 
some protests and a few slight changes, the treaty was signed 
on June 28, 1919, the fifth anniversary of the murder of Arch¬ 
duke Francis Ferdinand. 

By the treaty of Versailles, Germany was utterly humbled. 
Territory was taken from her on the east and west, Alsace- 
Lorraine passing to France and the eastern provinces going to 
the newly-independent state of Poland; upper Silesia with its 
invaluable coal fields and the Saar valley were made “plebiscite” 
areas (that is, the people in these territories were to decide by 
vote whether they wished to remain under German domination); 
the important coal mines in the Saar valley, however, were 
left under temporary control of France in payment for French 
coal mines destroyed by the Germans. The German colonies 
in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Ocean, and all concessions which 


440 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Germany had held in China, such as the right to operate rail¬ 
roads, were distributed among the victors. Germany was 
forced to destroy her powerful fortifications of Heligoland and 
to open the Kiel Canal to all nations; her army was reduced to 
100,000 men and her navy was limited to thirty-six ships. The 
terms of the treaty provided that the manufacture by Germany 
of cannon, machine guns, munitions, and aircraft be limited 
to a very small scale. She was forbidden to manufacture sub¬ 
marines. Moreover, she was required to accept full respon¬ 
sibility for the damage she had done during the war and to 
make reparation for it to the Allies, beginning within two years 
by a payment of $5,000,000,000. 

615. Treaty with Austria. Austria, too, was stripped of her 
greatness. Many groups of her former subjects were released 
from her control and were joined to the various nations about 

-her. Austria was finally reduced from a nation of the first, 
rank to a small German republic of about six million inhabitants. 
Hungary was separated from her and recognized as an indepen¬ 
dent republic; while the new states, Czecho-Slovakia, Jugo¬ 
slavia, and Poland were formed wholly or in part from her 
territory. Besides these losses in territory, Austria was forced 
to promise a large reparation payment. 

616. Treaties with Bulgaria and Turkey. Bulgaria and 
Turkey who had fought on the side of the Central Powers, also 
lost portions of their territory. The result was a series of wars 
that broke out in this region that had not entirely ceased in 1922. 

617. The Senate Rejects the Treaty. On July 10, 1919, 
immediately after his return from Europe, President Wilson 
presented to the Senate the Treaty of Peace, which included 
the Covenant of the League of Nations. A prolonged discussion 
followed in the Senate and the criticism which arose there was 
soon taken up by the newspapers of the country. To explain 
and defend the provisions of the Covenant which had met with 
such opposition, the President undertook a speech-making tour 
in September, 1919, visiting the principal cities of the central 


woodrow Wilson’s administration 


441 


and western states. In spite of his efforts, the treaty was 
rejected by the Senate and thus became the leading issue in 
the presidential campaign of 1920. 

618. Two Constitutional Amendments. During the World 
War a campaign for national prohibition was waged with great 
vigor in the United States by the Anti-Saloon League and 
other agencies. Before 1917 twenty-four states had provided 
for local prohibition. In December, 1917, Congress submitted 
to all the states an amendment to the Constitution providing 
for national prohibition when ratified by thirty-six states. By 
June 16, 1919, the required number of states had ratified the 
amendment, which was added to the Constitution as the 
eighteenth. 

On August 26, 1920, an amendment to the Constitution, 
providing for equal suffrage for men and women, was adopted. 
For many years prominent women of the United States had 
fought for the adoption of an amendment that would permit 
their voting on an equal footing with men. Several states 
had granted them the right to vote in elections of minor im¬ 
portance, but not until the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted 
did they have the privilege of voting on all questions of state 
and national importance. 

619. Warren G. Harding Elected President. Governor James 
M. Cox, of Ohio, the Democratic candidate for the presidency, 
favored the adoption of the League of Nations. He promised 
the people of the country that if he was elected he would carry 
out the policies of Mr. Wilson. Senator Warren G. Harding, 
of Ohio, the Republican nominee, opposed the League. In the 
election of 1920, Senator Harding received an overwhelming 
majority of votes. 

Questions 

1. What did the Underwood Tariff do? What did the Sixteenth Amend¬ 
ment do? The Federal Reserve Act? The Seventeenth Amendment? The 
Parcels Post Act? The Tolls Repeal? Read the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, 
Eighteenth, and Nineteenth amendments to the Constitution. 


442 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


2. What caused the trouble with Mexico? How was it settled? 

3. Describe the development of the British Empire. Of Russia. Of 
Germany. Of France. 

4. What was the Triple Entente? The Triple Alliance? Find on the 
map the proposed route for the Berlin-Bagdad Railroad. What was the 
immediate cause of the World War? 

5. Who was elected to succeed Pope Pius X? 

6. Why was it difficult for America to be neutral? What was the con¬ 
troversy with Great Britain? What did Germany decide to do? How did 
this affect America? 

7. What is meant by the Army Draft? When before did the United States 
raise armies in this way? What was the Council of National Defense? 

8. What did the war cost the United States? How was the money raised? 

9. List some of the patriotic undertakings of the American people. 

10. Tell the story of American fighting at Chateau-Thierry. At Belleau 
Woods. At St. Mihiel. At the Meuse-Argonne. 

11. Tell the story of the “Fighting Outside the Lines.” What did the 
Archbishops do? The Knights of Columbus? The National Catholic War 
Council? What are the aims of the National Catholic Welfare Council? 

12. How was the League of Nations received in America? 

Theme Topics 

1. Write a letter to The Executive Secretary, National Catholic Welfare 
Council, 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W., Washington, D. C., asking for 
information concerning the work of the organization. Prepare a ten-minute 
talk from the material you receive. 

2. Write a letter to the American Red Cross, Washington, D. C., asking 
for information concerning the work done by social welfare organizations 
during the war. Prepare a ten-minute talk from the information you receive. 


CHAPTER XLIII 


WARREN G. HARDING’S ADMINISTRATION 

REPUBLICAN—1921- 

620. The Twenty-ninth President. Warren G. Harding, the 
twenty-ninth President of the United States, was born in Corsica, 
Ohio, in 1865. He was graduated from Ohio Central College, 
and later entered the newspaper profession. Before his election 
to the presidency, he had served as state senator, lieutenant- 
governor, and as United States senator. 

In his inaugural address (March 4, 1921), President Harding 
advised Congress to pass a declaration that the state of war 
with Germany and Austria be ended. Some months later (July, 
1921), separate treaties were made with these nations and 
peace was officially declared, almost three years after the signing 
of the Armistice. 

621. The Washington Conference. President Harding dis¬ 
approved of the League of Nations, but he felt that something 
should be done to relieve all nations of the burden of main¬ 
taining immense armies and navies. The great powers had 
tremendous war debts to pay and none could afford to prepare 
for future war. Accordingly, the President invited the leading 
countries to send delegates to Washington, D. C., in November, 
1921, to consider the ways and means by which armaments 
might be limited, and to discuss the problems of the Pacific 
and Far East. Besides the five great naval powers—the United 
States, Great Britain, Japan, France, and Italy—there were 
represented in the conference the smaller nations, Belgium, the 
Netherlands, Portugal, and China, who were particularly inter¬ 
ested in the problems of the Pacific. 

443 


444 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



WARREN G. HARDING 




warren g. harding’s administration 


445 


622. The Five-Power Naval Treaty. On the opening day of 
the Conference (November 12), Charles E. Hughes, our Secre¬ 
tary of State, surprised the world by proposing that the three 
great naval powers, the United States, Great Britain, and 
Japan, should agree to end all competition in navy building. 
He explained that this could be accomplished by stopping the 
construction of large fighting ships for a period of ten years, 
and, further, by “scrapping,” or sinking, certain of the older 
ships in each navy. 

The delegates of the great powers expressed their approval 
in principle of the suggestions of Mr. Hughes, and the matter 
was submitted to a committee of naval experts, who worked 
out the details of the limitation program. A Five-Power Naval 
Treaty was finally agreed upon in which France and Italy joined 
the other powers. This provided that the United States and 
Great Britain each should have a naval tonnage of 525,000, 
Japan three-fifths as much, and France and Italy slightly more 
than one-third. 

623. The Four-Power Treaty. Of greater importance was 
the Four-Power Treaty, the purpose of which was to remove 
the causes of disputes in the Pacific and Far East. This treaty 
was signed by the delegates of the United States, Great Britain, 
France, and Japan. It provides the following: (1) that these 
four powers shall respect the rights of each other pertaining to 
their insular possessions and dominions in the Pacific; (2) that 
if any controversy concerning these rights should develop, a 
conference of all four powers would be called to adjust it; (3) 
that if the rights should be threatened by any nation which 
is not a party of the treaty, the four powers would consult each 
other for the purpose of arranging a plan of action; (4) that 
the treaty shall be in force ten years, and after that period shall 
continue in force indefinitely unless any of the four powers 
wish to terminate it; and (5) that the ratification of this treaty 
would terminate the Anglo-Japanese alliance, which had been 
in force since 1911. 


44G 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Besides these treaties, the five great powers came to an agree¬ 
ment regarding the limitation of submarines and the use of 
poisonous gas in war; and the nine powers signed two treaties 
relating to Chinese affairs: (1) a treaty by which the political 
independence and territorial integrity of China were guaranteed, 
and (2) a treaty dealing with the Chinese tariff. 

The conference came to a close on February 6, 1922, and 
the delegates carried copies of the five treaties to their respec¬ 
tive governments for ratification. President Harding submitted 
the treaties to the United States Congress, which, after a long 
and bitter discussion, accepted them. 

624. Death of Pope Benedict XV. While the Disarmament 
Conference was in progress in Washington, D. C., the illustrious 
Pope Benedict XV died (January 22, 1922). Though his ponti¬ 
ficate was short (November, 1914, to January, 1922), it is one of 
the most important in history, because it was during this period 
that the World War was fought. The Supreme Pontiff, as 
Shepherd and Teacher of all Christians, made it his chief duty 
to oppose the war and to exert his influence to restore peace to 
the world. Message after message he sent to the nations at 
war, begging them to put an end to the conflict. Though his 
efforts were disregarded, the Holy Father continued to implore 
for peace. His most important message to the belligerent 
nations was his peace note of August 1, 1917. In this he out¬ 
lined the fundamental principles upon which permanent peace 
might be established. Statesmen throughout the world ac¬ 
cepted his proposals, and five months later (January, 1918), 
when the President of the United States presented his peace 
program to Congress, among his “Fourteen Points” were many 
similar to those which had been set forth by the Pope. 

Besides asking for peace, Pope Benedict XV sought to aid the 
victims of war. Three months after the outbreak of the war 
he asked that the permanently disabled prisoners of war be 
exchanged. Two months later, at his .suggestion, the captive 
women, children, and men unfit for military service were re- 


WARREN G. HARDING’s ADMINISTRATION 


447 


turned to their countries. For the benefit of sick and wounded 
prisoners he secured refuge in Switzerland and other neutral 
countries. To trace missing soldiers and other victims of war 
and to give them physical and moral assistance, he established 
an international bureau of communication. These are but a 
few of the many works of mercy which the Holy Father extended 
to all, regardless of nationality, race, or religion. He was ever 
ready to aid or to intervene, and thousands of lives were saved 
through his personal endeavors. 

The great work accomplished by Pope Benedict XV, both 
during and after the war, led statesmen throughout the world 
to recognize the moral influence of the Vatican. As a result, 
the principal nations of the world have reopened diplomatic 
relations with the Holy See. Twenty-seven nations, including 
Great Britain, France, Russia, Spain, Belgium, Holland, and the 
important South American countries, now have representatives 
in the Vatican. 

While the Pope labored to bring about peace in the world, he 
never forgot that one of his most important duties was the teach¬ 
ing of the Word of God. He was especially interested in the 
improvement of preaching among priests, in the spread of 
Foreign Missions, and in the promotion of the study of the 
Bible. During his pontificate a number of Saints were canonized, 
among whom was St. Joan of Arc, the heroine of France. 

625. Election of Pius XI. On the eleventh day after the death 

of the illustrious Pope Benedict XV, the Cardinals, assembled 

in conclave, elected (February 2, 1922) as his successor, Cardinal 

Achille Ratti, the present Pope Pius XI. Shortly after his 

election, the new Pope stepped forth upon the exterior balcony 

of St. Peter’s Cathedral and gave his blessing to the world. 

• 

In appearing outside the walls of St. Peter’s, the Supreme 
Pontiff departed from the rule which has been followed by his 
predecessors since 1870 when Rome passed out of the possession 
of the Holy See and the Pope became the voluntary “Prisoner 
of the Vatican.” 


448 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Before his elevation to the Pontifical Throne, Pope Pius XI 
had won widespread attention. His writings on various histor¬ 
ical and scientific subjects place him among the most learned 
men of the world. As Apostolic Visitor to Poland when that na¬ 
tion was torn by revolutions, his accomplishments were extraor¬ 
dinary. He gained for the Catholic Church a position of first 

rank in the new republic; 
he distributed church lands 
among the peasants and 
gave much Vatican money 
for their relief. When the 
Bolsheviki armies besieged 
Warsaw and the foreign 
missionaries fled, he re¬ 
mained, serene, at his post. 
From the Bolsheviki gov¬ 
ernment he secured the re¬ 
lease of many distinguished 
prisoners. His services in 
Poland in this most difficult 
period of its history were 
conducted with such tact 
that the world recognized 
in the Apostolic Visitor a 
diplomat of the highest order and greatest ability. 

The new Pope has always been greatly interested in the United 
States and has often expressed his admiration for Washing¬ 
ton, Lincoln, and Archbishop Carroll. Many Catholics of the 
United States who have visited Rome since the beginning of his 
pontificate have had the exceptional privilege of attending his 
Mass and receiving the Holy Eucharist from his hands. 


POPE PIUS XI 


Questions 

l 

1. When did America officially make peace with Germany and Austria? 

2. What was accomplished by the Washington Conference? What are 
the most important provisions of the Four-Power Treaty? 





warren g. harding’s administration 


449 


3. What did Pope Pius XI do when he was elected? What important 
things had he done before his election? 

4. From each of the Chronological Reviews choose two or three of the most 
important events, from the founding of America to the present day. 

Theme Topics 

1. The Election of Pope Pius XI. 

2. Memorize the poem, “In Flanders Field,” by John McCrae. 

3. Write a three-paragraph essay on the Washington Conference. For 
material on this subject consult The Literary Digest for November and Decem¬ 
ber, 1921. 


CHAPTER XLIV 
A CENTURY’S PROGRESS 

626. Area and Extent. The United States within a century 
(1822-1922) has grown from a group of twenty-four states to a 
recognized “world power,” composed of forty-eight unified 
states. The summer sun never sets upon its whole extent, for 
a new day dawns upon the forests of Maine before the night 
sets in on our westernmost islands. When our government 
began its existence under the Constitution it had jurisdiction 
over the present territory east of the Mississippi as far south 
as latitude 31°—an area of about eight hundred thousand square 
miles. Since then the present mainland of the United States 
has been increased by the following accessions: The Louisiana 
Purchase; Oregon; Florida; Texas; Mexican Territory; and the 
Gadsden Purchase. Thus the continental area of the United 
States, excluding Alaska, is now more than three million square 
miles (3,026,789). With the outlying possessions—Alaska, 
Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands, Tutuila, the Panama 
Canal Zone, Guam, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands—an area 
of far more than three million square miles (3,733,364), the 
total expanse of territory under the jurisdiction of the United 
States is over three and one-half million square miles (3,743,529). 
Alaska and Hawaii are our only territories. Our colonial posses¬ 
sions are governed as dependencies. 

627. Population. After the Revolution the people of the 
United States numbered scarcely four million. Most of these 
were scattered along the eastern seaboard. At present (census 
of 1920) the United States proper has a population of over 

450 


a century’s progress 


451 


one hundred five million (105,710,620). Together with the popu¬ 
lation of its outlying possessions, the total number is more than 
one hundred eighteen million (118,010,803), of which some 
twenty-three million (23,301,509) are Catholics. 

628. Immigration. Our 
marked increase in popula¬ 
tion in recent years would 
have been impossible but for 
the great immigration from 
Europe. For many years 
after the Revolution, immi¬ 
grants came in small numbers, 
and not before 1840 did they 
average one hundred thou¬ 
sand a year. But in the fol¬ 
lowing decade, the poverty 
and oppression of the laboring 
people in Europe led to a 
vast influx of aliens. After 
1870 so great was immigra¬ 
tion to the United States that 
by 1900 the country had 
added nearly twenty million foreigners to its population, most 
of whom settled in New England, in the great cities (especially 
New York and Chicago), and in the Northwest. Very few 
settled in the South except in Texas; the negroes as competitive 
laborers kept them out of what was otherwise a most promising 
section. 

At first these aliens came largely from the British Isles, Ger¬ 
many, and the Scandinavian peninsula. They were intelligent, 
enterprising, and active in the development of the great agricul¬ 
tural states of the West. In recent years, however, a less desir¬ 
able element from southern Europe and eastern Asia (China) 
has found its way to our shores. 



A FILIPINO HOUSE IN A TREE-TOP 










452 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Congress has, from time to time, amended our immigration 
laws by enacting measures which prevent undesirables from 
entering the United States. One of the most stringent of these 
measures was adopted in 1891; since then a number of similar 
measures have restricted immigration. At the session of April, 
1921, Congress passed a bill providing that “the number of 
aliens of any nationality who may be admitted under the immi¬ 
gration laws of the United States in any fiscal year shall 

be limited to 3 per 
centum of foreign- 
born persons of such 
nationality resident 
in the United States 
as determined by the 
census of 1910.” The 
total number of im¬ 
migrants admitted to 
the country, includ¬ 
ing the figures for 
1921, is 34,435,332. 

629. Cities and 
Towns. The growth 
and increase of our 
immigrants at ellis island cities and towns is 

truly marvelous. In 1820 four per cent of the population 
of the United States lived in cities, only five of which contained 
more than ten thousand inhabitants. The city dwellers at 
present (census of 1920) number half of the total population. 
New York, our metropolis, has a population of over five and one- 
half millions (5,620,048), and among the cities of the world is 
second only to London. Chicago, our second largest city, 
numbers over two million inhabitants (2,701,705) and ranks 
fourth among the world’s cities in population; while our third 
largest city, Philadelphia, numbers over one and one-half 
million (1,823,779). Nine other cities have a population 












































































■ 























' 

























a century's progress 


453 


of between five hundred thousand and one million—Detroit 
(993,678), Cleveland (796,841), St. Louis (772,897), Boston 
(748,060), Baltimore (733,826), Pittsburgh (588,343), Los An¬ 
geles (576,673), Buffalo (566,775), and San Francisco(506,676). 
Detroit, owing chiefly to the automobile industry, has during 
the last decade advanced from the thirteenth largest city to 
fourth in rank. 



THE NEW YORK WATERFRONT 


630. Industries. Agriculture, still the chief industry of the 
United States, has developed in astounding proportions. Farm¬ 
ers, advancing in the knowledge of scientific agriculture, have 
increased the quantity and improved the quality of their prod¬ 
ucts. Gravel roads, railroads, telephones, and rural mail deliv¬ 
eries—all convince the farmer that he has many advantages 
over the city dweller. 

Manufacturing, in its infancy in 1789, has increased in enor¬ 
mous proportions, so that at present we gre sending manufac¬ 
tured articles not only to the leading European nations, but 
also to South America, Africa, and Asia. Our factories give 










454 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


employment to over five million persons and produce billions 
of dollars’ worth of goods each year. 

Commerce, so restricted in 1789, has kept pace with the 
industries of agriculture and manufacturing. Our country has 
now an extensive import and export trade, and in these respects 
is today one of the leading nations of the world. 

The foreign trade of the United States Merchant Marine has 
increased from 2,379,396 tons in 1860 to 9,924,694 tons in 
1920; its coastwide trade, for the same period, increased from 
2,644,867 tons to 6,357,706 tons. 

631. Inventions and Discoveries. The progress of industries 
in the United States gave rise to an unrivaled activity in inven¬ 
tions, especially of labor-saving machinery. In 1791 the patent 
office at Washington issued its first patent, one for making 
potash for the manufacture of soap; it has since issued more 
than a million patents. 

632. Light from Gas. David Melville of Newport, Rhode 
Island, attracted by developments made along the lines of 
gas lighting in England, installed in his house and in the streets 
in front of it (1806), the first gas lights used in the United States. 

633. The Sewing Machine. After years of toil and poverty, 
Elias Howe (1845) succeeded in completing the first sewing 
machine, which has since been perfected by Wheeler, Wilson, 
Singer, and other inventors. 

634. Vulcanization of Rubber. In 1839 Charles Goodyear of 
New Haven, Connecticut, accidentally discovered a process by 
which rubber, mixed with sulphur, subjected to great heat, 
could be manufactured into waterproof goods, both durable 
and elastic. Considering the great demand for rubber manu¬ 
factures, Goodyear’s invention may be ranked as one of the 
most important of the century. 

635. The Reaper. The old-time methods of reaping grain 
by means of the sickle, scythe, or cradle, have been revolution¬ 
ized by the invention of the McCormick reaper. Crude grain 


a century’s progress 


455 


cutters have been superseded by the twine binder harvester 
and, in some of the large farming districts, by the combined 
harvester and thresher. The last mentioned is a huge machine 
driven by steam or electricity which makes its way through 
vast fields of standing 
grain, leaving behind 
it the grain threshed, 
measured, and neat¬ 
ly bagged. 

. 636. The Electric 
Street Car. The first 
street cars used were 
drawn by horses, but 
electricity has con¬ 
verted our horse cars 
into ‘Trolley cars.” These not only convey persons from 
one part of the city to another, but also connect many of 
our towns and cities. 

637. Illumination and Heating. Various forms of electric 
lighting have taken the place of the old-time tallow candle, 
oil lamp, and more recent gas jet. The use of electricity for 
lighting streets and houses was first put into practice by Thomas 
A. Edison of Menlo Park, New Jersey (1878). 

Open grates and fireplaces, or open Franklin stoves for burn¬ 
ing wooden logs or soft coal, were long used for warming pri¬ 
vate houses. After 1835 anthracite stoves came rapidly into 
use, both for heating and cooking purposes. These were devel¬ 
oped into various forms of hot air and steam furnaces. Since 
1893 electric radiators have come into use. The age of steam is 
being fast replaced by the wonder-achieving age of electricity. 

638. Telegraphy. In 1866 Cyrus W. Field laid the first 
cable in the Atlantic. A final link in the chain of communi¬ 
cation uniting the nations of the world was the Pacific cable, 
completed in 1903. It extends from San Francisco to Hong- 














456 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Kong by way of Hawaii and Manila. The first message, sent 
by President Roosevelt, flashed around the world in less than 
five minutes. The Marconi wireless telegraph by which mes¬ 
sages are transmitted through the air was first used between the 
United States and Europe in 1903, when President Roosevelt 
sent a wireless message from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, across 
the Atlantic to King Edward ATI of England. 

The invention of wireless telegraphy cannot be credited to 
any one mind, although Marconi, an Italian, was the first 
to perfect the appliance used in space telegraphy and the first to 
obtain a patent for it. He visited the United States in 1899. 

More than one hundred shore stations for sending wireless 
telegrams have been established in the United States and 

nearly two hundred for re¬ 
ceiving such telegrams are 
found on our naval vessels. 
All the great ocean steam¬ 
ships and a large number of 
the vessels on interior waters 
are now fitted out with wire¬ 
less instruments. 

Great improvements in 
wireless telegraphy have 
taken place within the past ten years. Long-distance radio 
stations which can signal to any part of the world have been 
established. During the World War the American Army built 
near Bordeaux, France, a large radio station which carried on 
direct communications with the government at Washington. 
The radio has been so perfected that lectures and concerts given 
in Washington can be heard in San Francisco. Owners of small 
radio sets can sit in their homes and hear noted singers, preachers, 
and lecturers from vast distances. 

639. The Telephone—The Typewriter. In 1877 Alexander 
Graham Bell put into practical use a telephone line between 
Salem and Boston, a distance of sixteen miles. The same year, 













457 


a century’s progress 

Elisha Gray succeeded in setting up a line between Chicago 
and Milwaukee, a distance of eighty-five miles. 

The first practical American typewriting machine was in¬ 
vented by Charles L. Sholes, in 1868. Since that time, the 
machine has come into use in almost every office in the country. 
Large business houses use not only the typewriter, but also 
adding machines, billing machines, and duplicating machines 
that greatly increase efficiency. 

640. The Phonograph—The Cinematograph. One of the first 
of the numerous inventions of Thomas A. Edison was the 
phonograph (1879). This remarkable instrument records and 
reproduces exactly the human voice or the tones of any musical 
instrument. In recent years the phonograph has been widely 
used in many schools. 

In 1894 Mr. Edison invented the cinematograph—an instru¬ 
ment which reproduces moving pictures from photographs. Not 
only have the people of the country enjoyed the “moving pic- 
tures ,, made possible by this invention, but many children have 
more easily and perfectly learned their lessons through the aid of 
pictures adapted to school use. During the World War moving 
pictures were used both for the pleasure of the men in the 
Army, and also to instruct them in the proper ways of marching, 
using the bayonet, and operating cannon, etc. 

641. The Automobile. To the French is due the credit for 
the invention of the automobile. While it is used chiefly as a 
pleasurable means of travel, the usefulness of the automobile 
fire engine, the motor trucks and wagons, and the motor farm 
implements cannot be overestimated. During the World War 
the automobile and automobile truck played a large part in 
supplying the soldiers with provisions. 

642. Aviation. The first promising attempt to make an air¬ 
plane was made by the German scientist, Otto Lilienthal (1891), 
who devised a glider without any engine. The invention has 
since been improved upon by both Europeans and Americans. 
Foremost among the latter may be mentioned the Wright 


458 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


brothers of Dayton, Ohio, who were the first to use successfully 
a motor-driven air machine. 

643. Postal Service. It was considered a great achievement 
when Benjamin Franklin, Postmaster-General of the Colonies 
(1754), caused the mail to be delivered three times a week. 
At present ten billion pieces of mail matter are carried annually 
at two cents and less per ounce, over thousands of miles of 
railroad and steamboat lines, and delivered from seventy 
thousand post offices. 

644. Our Great Railway System—Standard Time. The 

twenty-three miles of experimental road of 1827, in the building 
of which the venerable Charles Carroll turned the first spadeful 
of earth, have since increased to some eighteen hundred rail¬ 
road lines, with a total of two hundred thousand miles. 

In order to secure uniform time over long areas, railroad 
companies of the United States agreed to make a change of 
one hour in their time for every fifteen degrees of longitude, 
giving the same time to all places within each time belt. This 
is called Standard Time, or Railroad Time. By this system 
the United States is divided into four sections, or time belts, 
called Eastern Time, Central Time, Mountain Time, and 
Pacific Time. The local time of the Central meridian of each 
belt is made the standard time for the entire belt. The boun¬ 
daries of these time belts are somewhat irregular, because rail¬ 
ways select well known places for time changes, as, for instance, 
Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta, at which cities the change is 
made from Eastern to Central time. 

645. Corporations and Trusts. Since the Civil War, many 
smaller business enterprises have merged into combinations 
called “corporations,” or “trusts,” which do business on a 
large scale. These trusts monopolize the trade of the country, and 
control not only the output of the necessities of life, but also 
their prices; they crush out smaller rivals by fixing destructive 
prices or by other unfair means; they are, to a great extent, the 
cause of the extremes of wealth and poverty found in large 


a century’s progress 


459 


cities. Because of these evils, Federal and State legislation 
has been directed against them. The Sherman Anti-trust Act 
(1890) prohibits all combinations in restraint of trade that engage 
in interstate commerce, but, in spite of this Act, trusts still exist. 

646. Reform Movements. In the last generation there has 
been a perceptible advance in the manner of governing certain of 
our charitable institutions. American schools for the blind and 
the deaf are among the best in the world; homes for delinquent 
children have become effective schools of mental and moral train¬ 
ing instead of, as formerly, reformatory prisons; homes for or¬ 
phan children may be found all over the country. Nearly every 
large city has a hospital conducted under the most healthful and 
sanitary conditions, in which the poor may receive, free of charge, 
medical treatment of the most advanced character. 

647. Women Suffrage. As early as 1825 Frances Wright 
advocated the right of women to vote. In 1848 the first Women’s 
Right Convention met in Seneca Falls, New York, where plans 
for gaining the vote were drawn up. Though little was ac¬ 
complished at this time, the movement continued, under the 
leadership of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Martha 
C. Wright, Mary A. McClintock, Margaret Fuller, and Lucy 
Stone. Gradually some of the western states gave the women 
the right to vote, but no national provision for women suffrage 
was made for many years. In 1878 Senator Sargent of Cal¬ 
ifornia presented to Congress a proposal to amend the Consti¬ 
tution to provide for woman suffrage. The amendment was 
defeated, but year after year prominent women brought it up 
and kept the question alive. In January, 1918, the House 
of Representatives passed a suffrage amendment, which was 
adopted, when Tennessee, the thirty-sixth state, voted for it. 

648. Social Rank. In the progress of our historical studies 
we may have noted that the lines of social rank so distinctly 
drawn during colonial times have disappeared. Instead we 
find distinct lines drawn between the capitalist and the laborer. 
Though this distinction exists, the American people will not 


460 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


tolerate abuses when once these abuses have been exposed to 
view. 

649. The Negro. Many of the negroes have taken advantage 
of the educational facilities afforded them, and some remarkable 
individuals, as Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass, 
prove that the race is capable of great development. 

Booker T. Washington, born a slave in Virginia, acquired 
an education at Hampton Institute. While an instructor in 
that school, he was employed by the state of Alabama to organize 
a normal school for colored people at Tuskegee. He opened 
the school in an old church and a shanty with an enrollment 
of thirty pupils. The school has since prospered greatly. Its 
object is to give the negroes a practical education along lines of 
trade and industry. Booker T. Washington became noted for 
his ability as a public speaker and as the author of a number 
of valuable publications. He died in 1915, and Robert R. 
Moton took his place as the leader of the race. 

Frederick Douglass, reared as a slave on a Maryland planta¬ 
tion, escaped to the North at the age of twenty-one and there 
gained reputation as a public speaker in behalf of the anti¬ 
slavery cause. He also gained fame as an orator in England. 
For many years he edited an anti-slavery paper in New York 
and after the Civil War became active in national politics. 

The negroes of the United States adopted, as slaves, the 
religion of their former owners, who were mainly Baptists and 
Methodists. Hence, Catholic negroes are few and live chiefly 
in those states originally settled by Catholics, as Maryland and 
Louisiana. The total number of colored Catholics is only about 
two hundred thousand. 

650. Elementary Education. The United States has been 
among the foremost countries of the world in educating its 
citizens. The American schools, organized by the first genera¬ 
tion of settlers in New Netherland and New England, as also the 
private Catholic schools founded by the Maryland settlers, have 
many times multiplied in number and improved in quality and 


461 


a century’s progress 

extent of instruction. Thus the means of an elementary edu¬ 
cation have been placed within convenient reach of every child. 

651. Catholic Elementary Education. The Catholic Church 
recognizes that religion must be the supreme principle in edu¬ 
cation, as it is in life. If, therefore, the so-called secular 
branches of knowledge are taught without references to religion, 
as is the case in our public schools, she feels that the “one thing 
necessary” (Luke 10:42), the most important of the educational 
branches, is being omitted in the training of the child. Hence, 
she tries to supply this defect by establishing schools under her 
own control, the so-called Catholic, or parochial schools, in 
which all the branches of the public schools are taught, and, in 
addition, religion and religious morality. 

According to the “Catholic Directory” of 1919, the total 
number of parish schools in the United States is over six thou¬ 
sand (6,048), with an attendance of over one million (1,771,418). 
This number of pupils is divided among some thirty-one thou¬ 
sand teachers, fully nine-tenths of whom are Religious. These 
religious teachers belong to about two hundred and seventy- 
five distinct teaching bodies, including teaching brotherhoods. 

652. Catholic Negro and Indian Schools. One hundred and 
nineteen Catholic schools accommodate eleven thousand Cath¬ 
olic negro children of the United States. The number of Cath¬ 
olic Indians in the United States is about one hundred thousand. 
Among these are established sixty-three Catholic schools, with 
an attendance of nearly five thousand Indian pupils. About 
six thousand Catholic Indian pupils are educated in the govern¬ 
ment schools. 

Under the so-called “Peace Policy” inaugurated by Presi¬ 
dent Grant (1870), about eighty thousand Catholic Indians 
passed from Catholic to Protestant control. Some years later 
the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, inaugurated by the 
government, provided for the support of Catholic Indian 
Schools. The appropriations of the Bureau were discontinued 
(1900), but many of the schools were kept up by the contri- 


462 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


butions of charitable societies and by donations. Since Presi¬ 
dent Roosevelt’s administration a considerable allowance has 
again been made to certain Catholic schools by the government 
through the Catholic Indian Bureau. This allowance is taken 
from the funds of the tribes who send their children to these 
schools. In 1889 Mother Catharine Drexel founded the com¬ 
munity of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and 
Colored People, which has successfully labored in behalf of 
Catholic Indian education. 

653. Catholic Higher Educational Institutions. The founding 

of Catholic institutions for higher learning kept pace with the 








pad 

t vth> 



NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY 


progress of religious toleration. Many Catholic secondary or 
high schools, colleges, and universities, have been opened to 
the Catholic student. In 1789 there was but one Catholic edu¬ 
cational institution in the land. Today according to the 
“Catholic Directory” of 1919 there are in the country one hun¬ 
dred thirteen ecclesiastical seminaries with an attendance of 
over eight thousand students, two hundred thirty colleges for 
boys, and seven hundred ten academies for girls. 









a century’s progress 


463 


The total number of pupils in Catholic educational insti¬ 
tutions of all kinds in the United States is over one and one- 
half million (1,779,709). 

Among the noted Catholic institutions of higher learning 
may be mentioned: Georgetown University, District of Colum¬ 
bia (1787), in charge of the Jesuits; Notre Dame University, 
South Bend, Indiana (1842), in charge of the Fathers of the 
Holy Cross; Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska (1879), 
in charge of the Jesuits; and the Catholic University of America, 
Washington, D. C. (1889). 

In 1912 hundreds of Georgetown’s sons from all parts of 
the Union gathered around their “Alma Mater” on the occa¬ 
sion of the unveiling of the statue of John Carroll, S. J., the 
first Archbishop of Baltimore. The statue is a gift of the Uni¬ 
versity Alumni Association, and represents Father Carroll in 
his Jesuit habit, sitting in an attitude of deep thought, as if 
marveling at the present growth of the little college he founded 
over one hundred years ago. The late Chief Justice White, 
Georgetown’s most distinguished son, in words as earnest as 
they were well chosen, presented the University with the statue 
of its founder. 

The Catholic University of America was established by the 
American bishops through the liberality of Miss Mary Cald¬ 
well. It is managed by officers under rules laid down by a 
board of trustees composed of bishops, priests, and laymen. 
The president of the board is the Chancellor of the University, 
and this office is held by the Archbishop of Baltimore. 

654. State Institutions of Higher Learning. Particularly 
notable is the rapid increase in the institutions of higher learn¬ 
ing. Agricultural colleges supported by appropriations of Con¬ 
gress have been opened in most of the states. 

Horace Mann established in Massachusetts (1840) the first 
Normal School in the United States. The success of his work 
stimulated other states to establish similar schools for the 
training and education of teachers. Normal schools were 


464 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


founded in almost all the free states before 1860, and at pres¬ 
ent scarcely a state can be found which does not contain more 
than one school for this purpose. Meantime, many of the 
states gradually built up institutions of higher learning, both 
professional and scientific. 

Among the colleges and universities of colonial fame may be 
mentioned: Harvard University of Cambridge, Massachusetts 
(1636); William and Mary College of Williamsburg, Virginia 
(1693); Yale University of New Haven, Connecticut (1701); 
Princeton University of Princeton, New Jersey (1746); Colum¬ 
bia University of New York (1754); the University of Penn¬ 
sylvania, founded by Franklin in Philadelphia (1755); Brown 
University of Providence, Rhode Island (1764), and Dart¬ 
mouth College of Hanover, New Hampshire (1769). Among 
the foremost colleges founded since the Revolution may be 
mentioned: the University of Virginia, founded by Jefferson 
in 1819; the University of Michigan, organized in 1842; the 
University of Wisconsin, in 1850; Washington University at 
St. Louis, in 1857; Cornell University in New York, in 1868; 
Johns Hopkins at Baltimore, in 1876. The Troy Female Semi¬ 
nary, New York (1821), now called the Emma Willard School 
in honor of its founder, was the first public institution for the 
higher education of women. Not until within the last sixty 
years were the higher schools open to women. Since then 
many colleges have been founded exclusively for their education. 

655. Education After School Days. For the encouragement 
of study after school days, literary and scientific organizations 
have been formed, prominent among which are those held on 
the shores of Lake Chautauqua in western New York. Univer¬ 
sity extension courses, lecture lyceums, and literary clubs are 
also doing very valuable educational work. The Catholic Edu¬ 
cational Association, composed of Catholic educators and other 
persons interested in Catholic education in the United States, 
holds each year a convention in some one of the larger cities. 
The object of the association and its conventions is to promote 


465 


a century’s progress 

by study, conference, and discussion, the thoroughness of Cath¬ 
olic educational work, and to help the cause of Catholic education 
by the publication and circulation of such literary matter as 
shall further these ends. 

656. Medicine. Great progress has also been made in medical 
science, particularly surgery. The use of anaesthetics in painful 
operations was begun in 1844 by Horace Wells of Hartford, who 
used nitrous oxide. A few years later Charles Jackson and 
William Morton of Boston introduced the use of sulphuric ether. 

657. The Art of Music. In music the United States has made 

only a beginning. Its musical productions show no national 
characteristic, but rather bear the impress of foreign music, 
particularly the German, French, and Italian. However, a 
number of our great American composers have written very 
creditable works. Foremost among these are: John Knowles 
Paine (1839-1908), a native of Maine, who is our earliest com¬ 
poser in large instrumental forms; Edward A. McDowell (1861- 
1908) of New York, a wide-famed pianist and composer; and 
George W. Chadwick (1854- ) of Massachusetts. Other 

well-known American composers are James Dunn Parker, 
George E. Whiting (a Catholic), Dudley Buck, William H. 
Gilchrist, Horatio Parker, William Mason, and Mrs. H. H. A. 
Beach. 

658. Motu Proprio of Pope Pius X. The first and most 
urgent condition which the Catholic Church imposes in regard 
to her music is that it be in conformity with the place, time, 
and purpose of Divine worship; that it be sacred, not theatrical. 
Accordingly, Pope Pius X issued on November 2, 1903, instruc¬ 
tion on sacred music in churches and at the same time ordered 
the authentic Gregorian chant to be used everywhere. He 
also caused choir books to be printed under the supervision 
of a special commission. Thus was occasioned the beginning 
of a reform in church music, which, however, is not yet uni¬ 
versal. Since parochial schools must do the preparatory work 
and lay the foundation for good church singing, the Holy 


466 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Father’s decree has occasioned new efforts and activity toward 
the systematic study of vocal music in these schools. 

659. Architecture. The architecture of the United States 
prior to the Revolution was generally English in its origin, 
except in the regions which were essentially Spanish in their 
settlement and development. Examples of Spanish architec¬ 
ture are the Cathedral of St. Augustine, the fort now called 



THE WHITE HOUSE AT WASHINGTON 


Marion, in Florida, and the buildings of the Spanish missions, 
to each of which, as a rule, a church is attached. Traces of 
French influences are apparent in New Orleans, especially in 
the Ursuline convent, now the Archbishop’s palace. Dutch 
and Swedish influence is apparent in such structures as the 
Van Cortlandt Manor on the Hudson, built in 1681. The early 
Constitutional period is noted for the erection of many monu¬ 
mental buildings, such as the old Capitol at Washington and 















a century’s progress 


467 


the State House at Boston. Toward the middle of the nine¬ 
teenth century (1815-1876), architecture, save in the building 
of churches, declined. During the last quarter of a century, 
however, interest in it was revived by architects of foreign 
training like Richard M. Hunt and Henry H. Richardson. 
The present tendency in the United States is toward the French 
renaissance for residences and hotels, and the Gothic and 
Romanesque for churches. Strictly speaking, America has 
no distinctly national architecture except in the colossal office 
buildings of the great cities. 

660. Painting. American art remained under British in¬ 
fluence until long after the Revolution, and American artists 
spent the greater part of their lives in Europe. In the nineteenth 
century, however (1825), American painting assumed a more 
national tone under the influence of such artists as Thomas 
Cole, one of the foremost landscape painters of the Rocky 
Mountain scenery, and Bierstadt, Hill, Hubbard, and Moran. 

During the latter part of the nineteenth century there was a 
large number of distinguished artists in America. Among them 
were George Miller (1822-1884), Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), 
George Inness (1825-1894), James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), 
John La Farge (1835-1910), Homer Martin (1836-1897), Winslow 
Homer (1836-1910), Edwin A. Abbey (1852-1911), and James 
Carroll Beckwith (1852-1917). Among our best-known artists 
who have died within the past three years are included A. H. 
Wyant (1894-1921), Kenyon Cox (1856-1919), and Abbott 
Thayer (1849-1921). 

The most distinguished painter in America today is John 
Singer Sargent (1865- ), whose fine portraits have won for 

him international fame. Other well-known artists of today 
include Benson, Brush, Blashfield, Beaux, Garber, Miller, 
Vedder, and Walker. 

661. Sculpture. The development of American sculpture 
began with the productions of Horatio Greenough of Boston, 
one of whose most famous works was the half-draped statue of 


468 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Washington which long stood before the national Capitol. 
Hiram Powers (1805-1873) did work similar to Greenough’s. 
Thomas Crawford (1813-1857), a pupil of Thorwaldsen, is 
known as the designer of the bronze “Liberty” surmounting 
the dome of the Capitol at Washington. Henry Kirk Brown 
(1814-1886) was the first whose productions bore a distinct 
national character, as typified in his equestrian statue of George 
Washington in Union Square, New York. Another sculptor, 
noted for his native tendencies, was Erastus Dow Palmer (1817- 
1904). His “Angels of the Sepulcher” shows the artist’s strength 
in religious subjects. The most prominent figure thus far among 
American sculptors is Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907). 
The brilliant creations of this artist are equal to those of re¬ 
nowned European sculptors. His Shaw memorial relief at 
Boston and the statue of Lincoln at Chicago are remarkable 
works of art, and his “General Sherman” in Central Park, New 
York, places him in the first rank of American sculptors. The 
most important sculptors of animal life are the late Edward 
Keymys, E. C. Potter, and A. C. Proctor. Solon H. Borglum 
(1868-1922) was well known for works of the Indian, the cowboy, 
and the broncho. 

Among prominent sculptors of the present day are Gutzon 
Borglum, brother of Solon, Cyrus E. Dallin, George Barnard, 
Daniel Chester French, Frederick W. MacMonnies, A. A. Wein- 
mann, Miss Ann Hyatt, Paul Manship, and Lorado Taft. 

662. American Authors. Washington Irving (1783-1859), 
New York, the “Father of American Literature,” was the 
first author to attract attention abroad. He is noted for his 
Knickerbocker History of New York, the Sketch Book, and his 
Life of Christopher Columbus. Irving and James Fenimore 
Cooper (1789-1851), New York, were the first distinguished 
authors to choose American subjects for their writings. The 
latter, our first novelist, wrote The Spy and many other novels, 
some of which are based upon the history of our country. 

William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), Massachusetts, the 
“Poet of Nature,” sometimes called the American Wordsworth, 


a century’s progress 


469 


came into fame by his well-known poem, “Thanatopsis,” written 
when he was only nineteen. He is associated with the “Knick¬ 
erbocker School,” a group of writers who, during the first 
quarter of the nineteenth century, made New York the literary 
center of our country. Some of his poems betray anti-Catho- 
lic prejudices. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), Massachusetts, the 
“Sage of Concord,” became known by his essays as one of the 
great masters of English prose. From the standpoint of Catho- 



HENRY W. LONGFELLOW JOHN G. WHITTIER 


licity, however, some of his ideas are obscure and unsound. 
He was color-blind, as it were, to the spiritual and supernatural. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), Maine, our most 
loved poet, wrote even before his graduation from college a 
number of poems, among which may be mentioned the “Hymn 
of the Moravian Nuns.” Some of his most famous longer 
poems are “Evangeline,” the Indian tale “Hiawatha,” and 
the Puritan narrative “The Courtship of Miles Standish.” 

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), Massachusetts, the 
“Quaker Poet,” and the most thoroughly American of all our 










470 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


poets, is, next to Longfellow, our most popular verse writer. 
Among his best known works are “The Barefoot Boy,” “Snow- 
Bound,” “Maud Muller,” and “Barbara Frietchie.” In some 
of his poems, Whittier, like Bryant, exhibits evidences of anti- 
Catholic prejudices. 

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), Massachusetts, is noted 
as a poet, essayist, and critic. Among his writings may be 
mentioned “Indian Summer Reverie,” “To the Dandelion,” 
“The Vision of Sir Launfal,” and the “Biglow Papers.” 

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), Massachusetts, the most imag¬ 
inative of American writers, is best known as a poet by “The 
Raven,” “The Bells,” “The Haunted Palace,” and “Annabel 

Lee.” He is the originator of 
our modern short story. Prom¬ 
inent among his short stories 
are “The Fall of the House 
of Usher” and “The Gold- 
Bug.” 

Oliver Wendell Holmes 
(1809-1894), Massachusetts, 
one of our most brilliant hu¬ 
morists, is distinguished both 
in prose and poetry. His 
stirring poem “Old Ironsides” 
saved from wreckage the Con¬ 
stitution. The work, however, 
which won him most fame was 
The Autocrat of the Breakfast 
Table, which consists of a series 
of essays at once philosophical, 
imaginative, and amusing. A similar work is The Professor 
at the Breakfast Table. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), Massachusetts, the greatest 
of American romancers, or story-writers, is the author of Twice 
Told Tales, The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables , 
Grandfather 1 s Chair, etc. 



OLIVER W. HOLMES 



a century ’s progress 


471 


Lew Wallace (1827-1905), Indiana, is noted as the author of 
Ben Hur, a Tale of the Christ, one of the most popular novels 
written during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 

Orestes A. Brownson (1803-1876), Vermont, an able American 
reviewer and philosopher, devoted his pen with heroic energy to 
the cause of the Catholic Church, to which he became a convert 
in 1844. His principal productions are The American Republic 
and The Convert. In the latter work he relates his religious 
wanderings in succession as a Congregationalist, a Presbyterian, 
a Universalist, a Rationalist, and a Socialist, until he found sat¬ 
isfaction in the solution of his doubts and solace for his troubles 
in the bosom of the Catholic Church. 

Archbishop Hughes (1797-1864), New York, is known not only 
as a most valiant defender of the Catholic Church when it was 
struggling for a footing in a rather hostile community, but also 
as the champion of the “school question.” His lectures, ser¬ 
mons, and pamphlets on historic and doctrinal subjects com¬ 
manded general attention. 

Reverend Abram J. Ryan (1839-1886), Virginia, the “Poet- 
Priest of the South”—Catholic chaplain in the Confederate 
army during the Civil War—is famed for many beautiful poems, 
among which are “The Conquered Banner,” “Erin’s Flag,” 
and “The Sword of Robert Lee.” 

Brother Azarias (1847-1893), New York, was a member of 
the Christian Brothers. Among his writings may be mentioned 
“Development of English Thought,” “Aristotle and the Chris¬ 
tian Church,” “Books and Reading,” “Philosophy of Liter¬ 
ature.” 

Alice Cary (1820-1871) and her sister, Phoebe Cary (1824- 
1871), Ohio, are the best women poets America has produced. 
Among their best verses are “Poems of Faith, Hope, and 
Charity,” “Pictures from Memory,” “Order for a Picture.” 

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1812-1896), Connecticut, gained 
renown by her anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Her 
overdrawn pictures did much to influence the North against the 
South. 


472 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Anna Hanson Dorsey (1815-1896), District of Columbia, was 
one of the pioneers of Catholic fiction in the United States. 
Among her works are Palms, Oriental Pearls, May Brooke, Warp 
and Woof. 

Mary A. Sadlier (1820-1903), Ireland, a Catholic, and an inde¬ 
fatigable writer, is best known by her novels, The Blakes and 
Flannigans (dealing with the school question), Confederate 
Chieftains, Bessie Conway, and Aunt Honor’s Keepsake. 

Helen Hunt Jackson (1831-1885), Massachusetts, known by 
her pen name “H. H.,” has by her story, Pomona, won a promi¬ 
nent name in American literature. 

Louisa M. Alcott (1832-1888), Pennsylvania, a most popular 
writer of her day, won fame as the author of Little Men, Little 
Women, and An Old-Fashioned Girl. 

663. Our Familiar Historians. William H. Prescott (1797- 
1859), Massachusetts, is well known as the author of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, Conquest of Mexico, Conquest of Peru. Religious 
prejudices, however, greatly mar the reliability of his otherwise 
excellent works. 

George Bancroft (1800-1891), Massachusetts, has left a great 
work in a History of the United States. As a literary production, 
it ranks high, but from a religious point of view it is objection¬ 
able, owing to the expressions of bigotry against the Catholic 
religion. 

Most Reverend Martin John Spaulding (1810-1872), Ken¬ 
tucky, the seventh Archbishop of Baltimore, is famous for 
Sketches of the Early Catholic Missions of Kentucky, History of 
the Protestant Reformation in all Countries, and Miscellanea. 

John L. Motley (1814-1877), Massachusetts, is best known for 
his classic History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. 

Francis Parkman (1823-1893), Massachusetts, is the author 
of The Conspiracy of Pontiac, The Pioneers of France in the 
New World, The Jesuits in North America, and La Salle, or the 
Discovery of the Great West. For the facts of the Jesuit mis¬ 
sions, Parkman is entirely reliable; but as a Catholic critic has 


a century’s progress 


473 


• 

well remarked, “Of the motives which governed the mission¬ 
aries, of their faith and charity, as well as of their whole interior 
spiritual life, he understands less than did the untutored Indian.” 

John Gilmary Shea (1824-1892), New York, was a Catholic 
whose world-wide fame as a scholar and historian is based on 
his Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley, The 
History of the Catholic Missions Among the Indian Tribes of the 
United States, and The History of the Catholic Church in the 
United States. 

664. Later Writers. Among the prominent literary men and 
women of the last quarter century may be mentioned the fol¬ 
lowing: 

Cardinal Gibbons (1834-1921), Baltimore, Maryland, was the 
distinguished writer of Faith of Our Fathers, Our Christian Heri¬ 
tage, and The Ambassadors of Christ —works which are rich con¬ 
tributions to American letters and which have won a wide 
circulation. 

The Right Reverend James L. Spalding (1840-1917), Peoria, 
Illinois, has given us productions of a master mind and of a ripe 
and broad scholarship in essays published under the titles of 
Education and the Higher Life, Things of the Mind, Means 
arid Ends of Education, Thoughts and Theories of Life and 
Education. 

Father John B. Tabb (1845-1909), Virginia, another poet- 
priest, is noted for his singularly artistic and refined poetical 
works. Some of his volumes are “Poems,” “An Octave to 
Mary,” and “Poems Grave and Gay.” 

Father Francis Finn, S. J. (1859- ), St. Louis, Missouri, 

is the author of numerous wholesome works of literature for 
young people. Among the most popular tales are Percy Wynn , 
Tom Playfair, Mostly Boys, and The Football Game. 

Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833-1908), Connecticut, one of 
the best known and most highly esteemed of American authors, 
wrote Fort Sumter, Wanted—A Man, The Doorstep, At Twi¬ 
light, and Alice of Monmouth. 


474 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly (1840-1917), Pennsylvania, a Cath¬ 
olic, is the author of many volumes of verse, including the 
poems “Crowned Stars,” “Hymn of the Sacred Heart,” “Children 
of the Golden Sheaf.” One of her chief prose works is the Life 
of Father Felix. 

Maurice Francis Egan (1852- ), Pennsylvania, a Catholic, 

will be remembered as a novelist for The Disappearance of John 
Longworthy, Success of Patrick Desmond, The Vocation of Edward 
Conway, and A Marriage of Reason. As a poet, Doctor Egan 
ranks high in American literature. Two volumes of verse pub¬ 
lished by him are Preludes and Songs and Sonnets. 

Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909), holds the first place 
in the American school of romantic novelists. Among his 
stories may be mentioned A Roman Singer, Dr. Claudius, and 
Marzio’s Crucifix. He spent the greater part of his life in Rome, 
and his strongest subjects were Italian life and scenery. 

665. Catholicity. In the United States, the Catholic Church, 
whose children were the first in discovery, first in the establish¬ 
ment of Christianity, first in the organization of civil govern¬ 
ment, first in proclaiming religious toleration, and first and 
unanimous in the support of Washington, has left monuments 
and memorials of her passage from the Canadian borders to the 
southernmost coast of Florida, and from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific. These monuments and memorials may be traced in the 
numerous churches, religious houses, and institutions of piety, 
charity, and learning, as also in the name of cities, mountains, 
rivers, and bays. The marvelous growth of the Church in num¬ 
bers, achievements, and popularity, today engages the attention 
of the world. After the Revolution, Bishop Carroll, the sole 
bishop, with thirty or forty priests, ministered to a flock of about 
fifty thousand souls, all scattered over a vast area, in which there 
were no schools, colleges, hospitals, or asylums; in 1919 the 
Catholic Church numbered sixteen archbishops—two of whom 
were cardinals—ninety-three bishops, 21,643 priests, 7,086 educa¬ 
tional institutions in which were distributed about 1,779,709 


a century’s progress 


475 


students, and over four hundred hospitals which annually cared 
for about half a million patients. Bishop Carroll’s flock of fifty 
thousand had increased to a Catholic laity of 17,885,645 souls, 
whose spiritual wants were administered to in 16,580 churches. 
Verily, the “mustard seed” had developed into a “mighty tree.” 

The Catholics of the United 
States have given the country 
- a long line of illustrious men 
—theologians, philosophers, 
scholars, orators, statesmen, 
soldiers, and sailors, a vast 
number of artisans and crafts¬ 
men who, by labor and thrift, 
have contributed to the 
growth of the wealth of the 
country. Their missionaries 
have sought out the most 
savage Indian tribes, and 
have won them to Christian¬ 
ity and civilization. They 
sisterhoods have brought re¬ 
lief and comfort to multi¬ 
tudes in hospitals, on the 
battlefield, and in tenements. The teaching brotherhoods and 
sisterhoods of the Church have gathered in thousands of children 
to the nation, and fitted them to become worthy citizens of 
America, and an honor to the Church and State. 

666. Death of Cardinal Gibbons and Chief Justice White. 
During the early months of 1921 our country suffered the loss of 
two of its greatest citizens—His Eminence James Cardinal 
Gibbons and Chief Justice Edward D. White. 

Cardinal Gibbons was the foremost prelate of the Catholic 
Church in the United States. He was born in Baltimore, Mary¬ 
land, in 1843, where he was ordained a priest shortly after 
the opening of the Civil War. His zeal and extraordinary 



cardinal gibbons 






476 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ability soon won the admiration of all with whom he came into 
contact. Wherever God called him to serve he became the leader 
not only in Catholic affairs but in every progressive movement. 
He built churches, opened schools, introduced the teaching 
Orders of Sisters, and labored ardently for Church and country. 
After twenty-five years in the service of God, he was created 
cardinal by Pope Leo XIII (1886). For twenty-five years he 
was the only cardinal in the United States. During his cardi- 
nalate the Catholic University of Washington was founded and 
the first convention of Catholic laymen of the United States was 
held. 

When the United States entered the World War, His Eminence, 
although eighty-three years of age, was. one of the first citizens 
to offer to the President his patriotic and loyal support. 

In the death of Chief Justice Edward D. White our country 
lost not only a great judge but an ideal citizen. Of him former 
President Taft said, “No judge ever sat on the Supreme Bench 
who was more deeply patriotic, more strongly American, more 
anxious for the welfare of his country.” 


Questions 

1. Name and locate the “westernmost islands” mentioned in Section 626. 
Show on the map the expansion of the United States since the adoption of 
the Constitution. Explain how and when each addition was made. 

2. Discuss the growth of our population. Why has the United States 
passed laws restricting immigration? Why have American cities grown so 
rapidly? Do you consider this a good thing for the country? 

3. Describe the growth of American industry. Name four important 
labor-saving devices invented by Americans. 

4. What is the meaning of Standard Time? What system of time is in 
use where you five? 

5. Why was full suffrage given to women by an amendment to the Con¬ 
stitution? What amendment provided for this? Read the amendment. 

6. Describe the progress of the Negro. 

7. Who supports the public elementary schools? Who supports the Cath¬ 
olic elementary schools? Name two or three public colleges and universi¬ 
ties. Name three Catholic colleges and universities. What is illiteracy? 
Why is there illiteracy in the United States in spite of the many schools? 


a century’s progress 


477 


What is the Chautauqua movement? What has it done for education? What 
is the purpose of the Catholic Educational Association? 

8. What progress has been made in medicine? In music? In architecture? 
In painting? In sculpture? What attention is being given in your parish 
to sacred music? Tell the class the name and author of each of the literary 
productions named in Section 662 which you have read. Which did you 
enjoy most? Why? How many of Father Tabb’s poems do you know? 
How r many of Father Finn’s stories have you read? 

9. What position has the Catholic Church in the United States? 

Theme Topics 

1. Write a short theme on one of the following men: Elias Howe, Charles 
Goodyear, Thomas Edison. 

2. Let three or four pupils read Booker T. Washington’s book, Up from 
Slavery. Each pupil will tell the class about some part of the book that 
interested him or her most. 

3. Let each pupil in the class memorize one poem selected from the works 
of Bryant, Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, Father Ryan, Alice Cary, Phoebe 
Cary, or Father Tabb. Be prepared to recite the poem selected if the teacher 
calls upon you. 

4. Have two members of the class read Moses, Louisa May Alcott. Then let 
each one tell an interesting incident from the book. Make your account so 
interesting that others in the class will want to read the book. 

5. Has any member of the class ever seen a famous painting or statue by 
an artist or sculptor mentioned in Sections 660 and 661? If so, let the pupil 
describe it to the others. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 
1865-1922 

Andrew Johnson’s Administration (1865-1869)—Republican. 

1865. Andrew Johnson is inaugurated as the seventeenth 
President. 

Reconstruction of the southern states is begun. 

The Freedman’s Bureau Bill is passed (March). 

The Thirteenth Amendment is adopted (December). 

1866. The Civil Rights Bill is passed (March). 

The Atlantic cable is successfully laid (June). 

The Second Plenary Council meets at Baltimore. 

1867. Nebraska is admitted to the Union as the thirty-seventh 
state (March). 

The Tenure of Office Bill is passed (March). 

The United States purchases Alaska from Russia. 
Maximilian is shot in Mexico (June). 

1868. President Johnson is impeached by the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives, but the trial ends in his acquittal. 

The Fourteenth Amendment is adopted (July). 
Carpet-bag governments are established in the South. 
Ulysses S. Grant’s Administration (1869-1877)—Republican. 

1869. Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated as the eighteenth Presi¬ 
dent. 

The Union Pacific Railroad is completed (May). 

The Ku Klux Klan society is organized in the South. 

1870. The Fifteenth Amendment is adopted (March). 

1871. Great fires occur in Chicago. Forest fires lay waste 
parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. 

All the states are again represented in Congress. 

1872. The Alabama difficulty is settled. 

A destructive fire breaks out in Boston (November). 
President Grant is reelected. 

478 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


479 


1873. A great financial panic disturbs the country. 

The Modoc Indians are subdued. 

A law is passed demonetizing silver. 

1875. Archbishop McCloskey is created cardinal (April). 

1876. The centennial of the Declaration of Independence is 
celebrated in Philadelphia (May—November). 

Colorado is admitted as the thirty-eighth state (August). 
General Custer’s force is slaughtered by Sioux Indians. 

Rutherford B. Hayes’s Administration (1877-1881)—Repub¬ 
lican. 

1877. Rutherford B. Hayes is inaugurated as the nineteenth 
President. 

1878. The Bland-Allison Bill is passed by Congress. 

The electric light is invented by Edison. 

Pope Pius IX dies and is succeeded by Leo XIII. 

1879. Resumption of Specie Payment goes into effect. 
Garfield’s and Arthur’s Administrations (1881-1885)—Re¬ 
publican. 

1881. James A. Garfield is inaugurated as the twentieth Presi¬ 
dent. 

The President is shot by Charles Guiteau (July 2) and 
dies (September 19). . 

Vice-president Chester A. Arthur is formally inaugurated 
as the twenty-first President. 

The nation celebrates the Yorktown Centennial. 

1882. Congress passes an act restricting Chinese immigration 
for ten years. 

1883. The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act is passed. 

1884. A great cotton exposition is opened at New Orleans. 

The Third Plenary Council meets at Baltimore. 

Grover Cleveland’s Administration (1885-1889)—Democratic. 

1885. Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as the twenty-second 
President. 

Venerable Cardinal McCloskey, Ex-president Grant, 
General McClellan, and General Sheridan die. 


480 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

1886. Archbishop Gibbons is created cardinal. 

The Presidential Succession Bill is enacted. 

The Statue of Liberty is erected in New York Harbor. 

1887. The Interstate Commerce Law is passed. 

The Tenure of Office Act is repealed. 

Anarchists cause serious riots in Chicago. 

1888. Australian Ballot System adopted in many states. 
Benjamin Harrison’s Administration (1889-1893)—Repub- 

lican. 

1889. Benjamin Harrison is inaugurated as the twenty-third 
President. 

Oklahoma Territory is opened to settlers (April). 

The nation celebrates the centennial of the beginning 
of our government under the Constitution and of Wash¬ 
ington’s inauguration (April). 

A disastrous flood occurs at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 
The Catholic Church celebrates the hundredth anniver¬ 
sary of the establishment of the hierarchy (November). 
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washing¬ 
ton are admitted to the Union (November). 

The Pan-American Congress assembles in Washington. 

1890. The Dependent Pension Bill is passed. 

The McKinley Tariff is enacted. 

The Silver Coinage Act is passed. 

Idaho and Wyoming are admitted to the Union (July). 
Grover Cleveland’s Administration (1893-1897)—Democratic. 

1893. Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as the twenty-fourth 
President. 

The Hawaiians rebel against their Queen. 

A Seal Fishery Treaty is negotiated with England. 

The Sherman Act is repealed. 

The Wilson Tariff Act is passed. 

The World’s Columbian Exposition is held in Chicago. 

1894. The Hawaiian Islands are organized into an independent 
republic. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


481 


1895. The Venezuelan difficulty is settled by arbitration. 

1896. Utah is admitted to the Union as the forty-fifth state. 
William McKinley’s Administration (1897-1901)—Repub¬ 
lican. 

1897. William McKinley is inaugurated as the twenty-fifth 
President. 

The Dingley Tariff Bill becomes a law (July). 

1898. Spain grants self-government to Cuba and Porto Rico 
(January). 

The Maine is blown up in Havana harbor (February). 
Congress declares war to exist with Spain (April 25). 
McKinley calls for volunteers. 

Cuba is blockaded by the American fleet. 

General Shatter wins the battle of El Caney. 

Lieutenant Hobson sinks the Merrimac (June). 
Commodore Schley destroys Cervera’s fleet. 

The Spanish commander, Toral, surrenders Santiago 
to the Americans (July). 

General Miles captures Porto Rico (July). 

Admiral Dewey wins the battle of Manila (May 1). 

A treaty of peace is signed at Paris (December 10). 

Porto Rico and the Philippines are ceded to the United 
States. 

The Hawaiian Islands are annexed by the United States. 

1899. An insurrection occurs in the Philippines. 

The Samoan difficulty is settled and the United States 
acquires Tutuila. 

The war in the Philippines is ended. 

The United States sends commissioners to the World’s 
Peace Conference at The Hague. 

1900. The Boxer uprising occurs in China. 

United States secures the “Open-Door” with China. 
McKinley is reelected (November). 

1901. President McKinley is assassinated (September 6). 
Vice-president Roosevelt assumes the presidential office. 


482 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


1902. Irrigation laws are passed for the reclamation of western 
arid lands. 

The United States acquires the islands of St. Thomas, 
St. Croix, and St. John. 

1903. A coal strike occurs in Pennsylvania. 

The Trans-Pacific cable is laid. 

Pope Leo XIII dies (July 20) and Pius X is elected his 
successor (August 4). 

1904. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition is held at St. Louis. 
Work on Panama canal is begun by United States. 

Theodore Roosevelt’s Administration (1905-1909)—Repub¬ 
lican. 

1905. Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated as the twenty-sixth 
President. 

Lewis and Clark Exposition is held at Portland. 

A treaty between Russia and Japan is negotiated at 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 

1906. San Francisco is devastated by an earthquake. 

1907. The Second Peace Conference convenes at The Hague. 
American battleship fleet circumnavigates globe. 

1908. Provisions are made for the conservation of our natural 
resources. 

William H. Taft’s Administration (1909-1913)—Republican. 

1909. William H. Taft is inaugurated as the twenty-seventh 
President. 

Robert E. Peary discovers the North Pole (April). 

The Payne-Aldrich Tariff Bill is passed (August). 

1910. Postal Savings Banks are established. 

The Hague Tribunal settles the Newfoundland fishing 
question. 

Chief Justice Fuller dies (July), and Edward D. White 
becomes his successor. 

War with Mexico is imminent. 

1911. A new treaty is negotiated with Japan (March). 
Archbishops Farley and O’Connell are created cardinals. 


CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW 


483 


New Mexico and Arizona are admitted to the Union. 
Amundsen discovers the South Pole (December). 

1912. The Titanic disaster occurs. 

Woodrow Wilson’s Administration (1913-1921)—Democrat. 

1913. Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the twenty-eighth 
President. 

The Sixty-third Congress meets in extra session. 

The Underwood Tariff Measure is enacted. 

Congress passes Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments. 
An Income Tax Law is passed. 

A New Currency Bill goes into effect. 

The Parcel Post is established. 

1914. The Tolls Repeal Bill is passed. 

Trouble with Mexico is adjusted. 

Cape Cod Canal is completed. 

President Wilson makes his famous Declaration of Neu¬ 
trality. 

Pope Pius X dies and Benedict XV is elected his suc¬ 
cessor. 

1915. German submarine sinks the Lusitania , causing the 
loss of many American lives (May). 

President Wilson sends a note of protest to the German 
Government. 

1916. Wilson is inaugurated as President for a second term. 

1917. The submarine warfare continues. 

The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with 
Germany. 

Congress declares war on Germany (April 6). 
Archbishops of the Catholic Church pledge aid to the 
government (April 18). 

Council of National Defense is organized. 

Army Draft Bill is passed by Congress (May). 
Registration Day is observed (June 5). 

Pershing and his staff arrive in Paris (June 7). 

The First Liberty Loan is floated. 


484 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

The Insurance Act is passed (October). 

1918. President Wilson presents his peace program of fourteen 
points (January 8). 

The first German offensive is begun (March). 

First battle for Americans (April). 

Americans gain victory at Chateau-Thierry (May). 
Battle of Belleau Woods (June). 

Battle of the Marne (July). 

Victory at St. Mihiel (September). 

Victory on Meuse-Argonne front (November 1-6). 

The Armistice is signed (November 11). 

The Peace Conference meets in Versailles (December 1). 

1919. Rehabilitation school is established (May 1). 

League of Nations accepted by the delegates to Peace 
Conference (December). 

The Eighteenth Amendment is adopted (June 16). 

The Treaty of Peace is signed (June 28). 

The United States Senate rejects the Treaty (July 10). 

1920. The Nineteenth Amendment is adopted (August 26). 

Warren G. Harding’s Administration (1921- )—Repub¬ 

lican. 

1921. Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the twenty-seventh 
President. 

Cardinal Gibbons dies (March 24). 

Chief Justice W lite dies (May 19). 

The Washington Conference convenes (November). 

The Five-Power Naval Treaty is adopted (November). 
The Four-Power Treaty is adopted (November). 

1922. Pope Benedict XV dies and Pius XI is elected his 
successor. 


A READING LIST FOR PUPILS 


Below are listed thirty-four books for the use of pupils in preparing themes and in gaining 
supplementary knowledge of the subjects discussed in the text. The authors feel that read¬ 
ing in such a restricted list is preferable to reading indiscriminately in a longer one. 

Each book is given a number. Thereafter, in the references listed chapter by chapter, 
a book is referred to by its number, and is followed by the pages to be read. For instance, 
the notation 8, II, 75-85 means that the pupil is to read Southworth’s Builders of Our Country, 
Volume II, pages 75-85. 

1. Tappan, Eva March, Our Country's Story, Boston, Houghton Mifflin 

Company, 1902. 

2. Starr, Frederick, American Indians, Boston, D. C. Heath & Company, 

1899. 

3. Eastman, Charles A., Indian Boyhood, Garden City, Doubleday, Page & 

Co., 1915. 

4. Guerber, H. A., The Story of the American Colonies, New York, American 

Book Company, 1898. 

5. Tappan, Eva March, American Hero Stories, Boston, Houghton Mifflin 

Company, 1906. 

6. The Franciscan Sisters, Our Country in Story, Chicago, Scott, Foresman 

and Company, 1917. 

7. Higgins, Rev. James, Stories of Great Heroes, New York, The Macmillan 

Company, 1919. 

8. Southworth, Gertrude V., Builders of Our Country, 2 volumes, New 

York, D. Appleton & Company, 1910. 

9. Pyle, Howard, Book of Pirates, New York, Harper and Brothers, 1921. 

10. Baldwin, James, The Conquest of the Old Northwest, New York, American 

Book Company, 1901. 

11. Earle, A. M., Home Life in Colonial Days, New York, The Macmillan 

Company, 1900. 

12. Eggleston, G. C., Our First Century, New York, A. S. Barnes & Com¬ 

pany, 1905. 

13. Sparks, E. E., The Men Who Made the Nation, New York, The Mac¬ 

millan Company, 1916. 

14. Wright, H. C., Children's Stories of American Progress, New York, Charles 

Scribner’s Sons, 1906. 

15. Guerber, H. A., Story of the Great Republic, New York, American Book 

Company, 1899. 

16. Coe, F. E., Makers of the Nation, New York, American Book Company, 

1912. 


485 


486 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

17. Hart, A. B., How Our Grandfathers Lived, New York, The Macmillan 

Company, 1902. 

18. Gordy, W. F., Stories of Later American History, New York, Charles 

Scribner’s Sons, 1915. 

19. Sparks, E. E., The Expansion of the American People, Chicago, Scott, 

Foresman and Company, 1900. 

20. Seawell, M. E., Twelve Naval Captains, New York, Charles Scribner’s 

Sons, 1908. 

21. Hart, A. B., Romance of the Civil War, New York, The Macmillan Com¬ 

pany, 1905. 

22. Marshall, H. E., This Country of Ours, New York, George H. Doran 

Company, 1917. 

23. Nicolay, Helen, Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln, New York, The Century 

Company, 1906. 

24. Hill, H. C., Community Life and Cine Problems, Boston, Ginn & Com¬ 

pany, 1922. 

25. Herdman, M. L., The Story of the United States, New York, Frederick 

A. Stokes Company, 1916. 

27. Rolt-Wheeler, F. W., The Wonder of War on Land, Boston, Lothrop, 

Lee & Shepard Company, 1918. 

28. Rowell, C. W., Leaders of the Great War, New York, The Macmillan 

Company, 1919. 

29. Teall, E. N., “The W.stch Tower,” in St. Nicholas Magazine, volumes 

47 and 48, published by The Century Company, New York. 

30. The Youth's Companion, 1920-1923. See “Current Events” in the 

various issues. 

31. Washington, Booker T., Up from Slavery, New York, Doubleday, Page 

& Company, 1915. 

32. Parkman, M. R., Conquests of Invention, New York, The Century 

Company, 1921. 

33. Moses, B., Louisa May Alcott, New York, D. Appleton & Company, 

1909. 

34. Antin, Mary, The Promised Land, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 

1912. 


REFERENCES FOR THE PUPILS* 

(Chapter by Chapter) 

Chapter I. 1 , 34-42. 2. 3. 4, 13-24. 

Chapter II. 1, 1-13. 5, 1-14. 6, 9-52. 7, 1-13. 8,1, 10-23; 24-36. 

Chapter III. 6, 52-73. 5, 14-24. 7, 29-41; 61-71; 42-53; 54-60; 72-83; 

84-92; 93-100; 101-107. 4, 62-66; 66-70. 8, I, 41-53. 

Chapter IV. 5, 24-38. 7, 21-27; 127-131. 8, I, 37-40; 54-63; 64-72. 

4, 80-82; 83-86. 

Chapter V. 6, 73-102. 5, 49-58; 96-108. 8, I, 142-152; 153-160; 161-168; 

169-178. 7, 108-112; 113-119; 120-122; 124-125. 4, 70-73; 73-76. 

Chapter VI. 8, I, 123-129. 4, 102-105. 

Chapter VII. 6, 136-140; 140-146. 5, 38-48. 9, 27-33; 129-149. 4, 87-90; 

90-94; 94-97; 97-101. 8, I, 73-84; 179-186; 197-200. 

Chapter VIII. 5, 73-83; 108-116. 8, I, 130-141; 187-196. 4, 134-136. 

Chapter IX. 5, 59-73; 84-95. 8, I, 89-100; 100-109; 109-114. 4, 105-109; 

109-113; 113-118; 118-122; 122-126; 126-129. 

Chapter X. 5, 117-126; 126-134; 135-143. 10, 11-144. 4 183-191. 8, I, 

226-243. 

Chapter XI. 11, 76-108; 108-126. 12, 180-203. 

Chapter XII. 8, H, 1-4; 5-8; 9-12; 12-16; 16-18. 4, 214-217; 218-220; 

220-223; 224-228. 

Chapter XIII. 5, 143-151; 151-157; 158-164; 165-171. 4, 233-237; 237- 
242; 242-245; 245-248; 248-253; 253-258; 258-262; 262-267. 8, II, 24-42; 
44-60. 

Chapter XIV. 6, 224-248. 5, 173-178; 179-184; 185-192; 193-200. 4, 283- 

288; 288-293; 293-297; 297-301'; 302-304; 304-309; 309-312; 312-315; 315- 
319; 319-323; 323-326. 8, II, 63-75; 75-83; 84-92. 

Chapter XV. 6, 146-162; 162-169; 169-174; 174-175. 13, 181-197. 15 

21-31. 

Chapter XVI. 6, 200-207; 207-224. 14, 1-40. 11, 325-363. 

Chapter XVII. 8, II, 97-107; 107-115. 13, 151-181; 218-255. 15, 31-37; 

38-43; 48. 16,179-185; 186-189; 190-197. 17, 18-20; 20-22. 18, 151-163. 

Chapter XVIII. 15, 48-55. 17, 23-24. 19, 180-185. 

Chapter XIX. 6, 259-308. 5, 207-218. 8, II, 127-135. 14, 55-85; 86- 

103. 18, 164-180. 19, 188-200; 200-210. 

*The key for the references will be found on page 485. 

487 



488 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Chapter XX. 6, 194-199. 20, 102-129; 145-166; 167-181; 192-208; 208- 
233. 8, H, 140-144. 14, 130-131. 17, 193-195; 238-242; 243-255; 

274-312. 

Chapter XXI. 6, 308-315. 15, 91-98; 98-101. 18, 194-198. 

Chapter XXII. 8,11,176-180. 17,203-206. 14,159-198. 16,233-241. 

Chapter XXIII. 13, 283-317; 319-346. 8, II, 149-157. 18, 208-214. 15, 

101-109. 14, 229-247. 

Chapter XXIV. 15, 109-113; 117-121. 17, 359-362. 

Chapter XXV. 8, II, 166-176; 180-184. 18, 201-207. 17, 209-212. 16, 

246-252. 15, 122-125. 

Chapter XXVI. 6, 102-136; 316-322. 8, II, 158-166. 14, 248-267; 279 

298. 15, 144-147. 16, 272-277; 278-282. 19, 336-350. 

Chapter XXVII. 21, 1-13; 18-29; 29-41; 51-57. 16, 283-290; 290-296; 296- 

303. 18, 225-233. 15, 148-151. 

Chapter XXVIII. 21, 49-50. 17, 163-165. 15, 151-156. 19, 351-365. 

Chapter XXIX. 21, 71-74. 8, II, 186-206. 15, 156-161. 22, 515-518. 

Chapter XXX. 16, 325-337. 18, 250-254; 254-257; 261-262. 8, II, 206- 

223; 229-235. 14, 299-327. 5, 254-264. 15, 161-167; 167-174; 174-178; 

178-183; 183-188; 189-193; 193-197; 197-200; 200-202; 202-206. 22, 519- 
525; 525-529; 530-536; 537-542; 543-547; 548-552. 21, 119-175; 212-277; 

283-340; 347-362. 

Chapter XXXI. 16, 338-350. 18, 262-280. 8, II, 223-228; 235-238; 238- 

248. 15, 206-210; 210-215; 215-218; 219-222; 222-226; 226-233; 233-236; 

239-247; 247-252. 22, 553-562; 562-566; 567-571. 21, 277-282; 340-341; 
362-418. 23, 120 to end. 

Chapter XXXII. 19, 429-438. 14, 328-333. 22, 572-576. 15, 252-257; 

257-262. 

Chapter XXXIII. 22, 577-579. 19, 366-376. 15, 262-268; 268-274. 

Chapter XXXIV. 15, 274-276; 276-2S1. 22, 580. 24, 264-371. 

Chapter XXXV. 22, 581-583. 15, 281-285; 285-288. 16, 351-356. 18, 
281-283. 

Chapter XXXVI. 15, 288-293. 22, 583-584. 24, 520-522. 

Chapter XXXVII. 15, 293-297; 297-300. 22, 584-586. 

Chapter XXXVIII. 22, 586-587; 24, 282-283. 15, 300-304; 304-308. 

Chapter XXXIX. 22, 588-594. 15, 309-310; 310-315; 315-318; 318-323; 

331-334; 334-336. 8, II, 252-255; 256-259. 

Chapter XL. 22, 585-589. 15, 337-338. 24, 39-41; 191-192. 

Chapter XLI. 22, 598-599. 24, 502. 25, 469-471. 

Chapter XLII. 22, 606-612. 25, 471-472. 26, 1-141. 27, 1-372. 28, 

256-297; 298-332. 


REFERENCES FOR THE PUPILS 


489 


Chapter XLIII. 29, Vol. 47, 747, 842, 941, 1035, 1129; Vol. 48, Pt. I, 264, 
458, 554; Pt. II, 650, 745, 842, 938, 1034, 1130. 30. 

Chapter XLIV. 8, II, 271-273. Selected chapters from 31, 32, 33, and 34. 


A READING LIST FOR THE TEACHER 


The following books are suggested for supplementary reading. In them the teacher 
will find ample material to supplement the present text. The best interpretation of history 
to pupils is possible only when the teacher is capable of presenting to them a high and fine 
conception of the facts which comes through familiarity with various opinions concerning 
the facts. As with the reading list for the pupils, each book is numbered. Later references 
are listed according to the numbers of the books. 

1. Fiske, John, The Discovery of America, 2 volumes, Boston, Houghton 

Mifflin, 1892. 

2. Thwaites, Reuben Gold, The Colonies, New York, Longmans, Green & 

Company, 1906. 

3. Public School Methods, Index and Volumes I, II, III, IV, V, VI, Chicago, 

School Methods Publishing Company, 1921. 

4. Semple, Ellen C., American History and Its Geographic Conditions, 

Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1903. 

5. Lummis, C. F., Spanish Pioneers, Chicago, McClurg & Company, 1893. 

6. DeCourcy, Henri, and Shea, John Gilmary, New History of the Catholic 

Church in the United States, New York, P. J. Kenedy Company, 1904. 

7. MacCaffrey, James, History of the Catholic Church in the Nineteenth 

Century, St. Louis, B. Herder, 1910. 

8. Earle, Alice Morse, Customs and Fashions in Old New England, New 

York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914. 

9. O’Brien, Michael J., A Hidden Phase of Amencan History, New York, 

Dodd, Mead <fc Company, 1919. 

10. Fiske, John, The Critical Period of American History, Boston, Houghton 

Mifflin & Company, 1898. 

11. Wilson, Woodrow, George Washington, New York, Harper & Brothers, 

1896. 

12. McMaster, John B?.ch, A History of the People of the United States from 

the Revolution to the Civil War, 8 volumes, New York, D. Appleton 
& Co., 1883-1913. 

13. Earle, Alice Morse, Stage-coach and Travel Days, New York, The Mac¬ 

millan Company, 1915. 

14. Morse, John Torrey, Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Boston, Houghton Mifflin 

Company, 1883. 

15. West, Willis Mason, History of the American People, Boston, Allyn & 

Bacon, 1918. 


490 


A READING LIST FOR THE TEACHER 


491 


16. Dodd, William E., Expansion and Conflict, Boston, Houghton Mifflin 

Company, 3 volumes, 1915. 

17. Haworth, Paul Leland, The United States in Our Own Times, New York, 

Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1920. 

18. Latan6, John Holladay, History of the United States, New York, Allyn 

& Bacon, 1921. 

19. Daily News Almanac and Year Book, 1915, 1918, Chicago Daily New r s 

Publishing Company. 

20. Dodd, William Edward, Woodrow Wilson and His Work, New York, 

Doubleday, Page & Company, 1920. 

21. The World's Work, Volume 45 (November, 1920). 

22. The Literary Digest, Volume 67 (November 27, 1920). 

23. Review of Reviews, Volume 62 (October, 1920). 

24. Current Opinion, Volume 70 (February, 1921). 


REFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER* 
(Chapter by Chapter) 


Chapter I. 1,1, 1-147. 2, 7-16. 3, V, 207-220; 470-482. 

Chapter II. 1, I, 295-446. 4, 1-11. 3, V, 196-206; 369-376. 

Chapter III. 1, II, 427-483. 5. 2, 27-31. 

Chapter IV. 2, 38-42. 4, 11-16. 3, V, 131-137. 

Chapter V. 1 , II, 528-537. 2, 32-36. 4, 17-19; 19-30. 3, IV, 204 (Jogues) 

Chapter VI. 4, 19-24. 

Chapter VII. 4, 31-35. 2, 65-96. 6, 22-36. 

Chapter VIII. 6, 197-214; 307-326; 326-337. 2, 195-218. 3, II, 424-425. 
Chapter IX. 6, 506-508. 2, 113-154; 154-177. 3, V, 389-401. 

Chapter X. 2, 277-278. 4, 36-51. 7, 267-269. 

Chapter XI. 2, 96-111; 178-194; 218-232. 8, 387 pages. 

Chapter XII. 4, 36-74. 6, 337-346. 9, 1-24. 

Chapter XIII. 9, 25-38; 54-66; 74-98. 7, II, 269. 3, V, 234-246. 

Chapter XIV. 9, 200-210; 373-385. 7, II, 269-273. 6, 265-307. 

Chapter XV. 7, 267-278. 6, 54-63; 63-76. 10, 230-305. 11. 

Chapter XVI. 12, I, 1-102. 4, 52-74; 75-92. 13, 241-252; 253-291. 

Chapter XVII. 6, 76-88. 12, I, 525-604. 7, II, 273-276. 

Chapter XVIII. 6, 89-92. 12, II, 368-416. 

Chapter XIX. 12, II, 583-635; III, 1-42; 42-89; 146-200; 200-278; 279-338. 
4, 93-114. 

Chapter XX. 4, 134-150. 12, III, 339-411; 541-560. 

Chapter XXI. 6, 627-629. 4, 150-161. 12, IV, 570-600. 

Chapter XXII. 7, II, 276-278. 12, V, 488-537. 6, 93-112. 

Chapter XXIII. 6, 113-128. 12, V, 55-81; 121-268. 4, 161-177. 

Chapter XXIV. 6, 375-401. 12, V, 343-373; 373-432. 7, II, 278-291. 

Chapter XXV. 6, 230-248. 12, VI, 550-592; 593-637; VII, 1-49; 50-73; 

142-189. 15,485-503. 

Chapter XXVI. 6, 689-696. 12, VII, 440-472; 473-505; 506-525; 526-551; 

552-584; 585-614. 15, 447-465; 466-475. 

Chapter XXVII. 6, 496-505. 12, VIII, 1-55. 15, 442-447. 

Chapter XXVIII. 6, 402-446. 7, II, 291-299. 15, 504-514; 515-519; 520- 

526; 527-540. 

Chapter XXIX. 15, 541-551; 551-558. 4, 226-245. 12, VIII, 277-302; 

405-4 72. 16, Chapters X, XI, XII. 

*The key for the references will be found on page 490. 

492 



REFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER 


493 


Chapter XXX. 12, VIII, 473-521. 16, Chapters XIII, XIV, XV. 4, 281- 

295. 

Chapter XXXI. 15, 558-580. 16, Chapter XVI. 4, 295-309. 

Chapter XXXII. 15, 581-592. 17, 1-12; 13-19; 20-38; 39-45. 

Chapter XXXIII. 6, Chapter XIII, 17, 46-62; 63-73. 15, 593-603. 

Chapter XXXIV. 17, 74-99; 125-134. 7, II, 299-302. 15, 596-598 (Sec¬ 

tions 718, 719). 

Chapter XXXV. 17, 134-145. 15, 612-614. 4, 310-335. 

Chapter XXXVI. 17, 146-163; 164-183. 4, 367-396. 15, 648-653. 

Chapter XXXVII. 17, 184-205. 7, II, 330-332. 6, Chapters XLVIII, 
XLIX, L, LVI. 

Chapter XXXVIII. 17, 206-231. 15, Sections 744, 745, 809. 7, II, 332- 

336. 

Chapter XXXIX. 17, 232-256; 257-276. 15, Sections 740, 747, 759, 769, 

772. 18, 497-520. 

Chapter XL. 17, 278-316; 317-340. 15, Sections 772, 773, 774, 775. 18, 

520-539. 

Chapter XLI. 15, 693-696. 17, 351-379. 18, 540-548. 19, 1915. 

Chapter XLII. 17, 380-421; 422-453; 454-480; 481-497. 18, 548-614. 15, 
696-729. 19, 1918, 20. 

Chapter XLIII. 19, 1923, 21, Vol. 45, 25-27. 22, Vol. 67, 54-57. 23, 

Vol. 62, 421-422. 24, Vol. 70, 155-156. 

Chapter XLIV. 17, 498-527. 7, II, 309-325; 325-330. 4, 336-366; 397- 

419: 420-435. 













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THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 


In Congress, July 4, 1776. 

The following declaration of principles w-as agreed to on July 4, 1776, 
and is thus recorded in the Journal of Congress for that day: 

Agreeably to the order of the day, the Congress resolved itself into a com¬ 
mittee of the whole to take into their further consideration the Declaration; 
and, after some time, the president resumed the chair, and Mr. Harrison re¬ 
ported that the committee have agreed to a Declaration, which they desired 
him to report. The Declaration being read, was agreed to as follows: 

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

When, in the comrse of human events, it becomes necessary for one people 
to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and 
to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to 
which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect 
to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which 
impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; 
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that 
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure 
these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just 
powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of gov¬ 
ernment becomes destructive of these ends, it is right of the people to alter 
or to abolish it, and to institute a new r government, laying its foundation on 
such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall 
seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will 
dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light 
and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that man¬ 
kind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right 
themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But 
when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is then- 
right, it is their duty,' to throw off such government, and to provide new 
guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of 
these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter 
their former systems of government. The history of the present king of 

495 


496 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having 
in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. 
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. 

1. He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary 
for the public good. 

2. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and press¬ 
ing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be 
obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

3. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large 
districts of people unless those people would relinquish the right of repre¬ 
sentation in the legislature—a right inestimable to them, and formidable 
to tyrants only. 

4. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfort¬ 
able, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole 
purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

5. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing, with 
manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

6. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause 
others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihila¬ 
tion, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state re¬ 
maining, in the meantime, exposed to all the dangers of invasions from 
without and convulsions within. 

7. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that 
purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to 
pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions 
of new appropriations of lands. 

8. He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his assent 
to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

9. He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of 
their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

10. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of 
officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. 

11. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without 
the consent of our legislatures. 

12. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior 
to, the civil power. 

13. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign 
to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to 
their acts of pretended legislation: 

a. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. 

b. For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders 

which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states. 


APPENDIX 


497 


c. For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world. 

d. For imposing taxes on us without our consent. 

e. For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury. 

f. For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for p intended offenses. 

g. For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring prov¬ 

ince, establishing therein an arbitrary government and enlarging 
its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instru¬ 
ment for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies. 

h. For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and 

altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments. 

i. For suspending our own legislature and declaring themselves invested 

with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

14. He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his pro¬ 
tection, and waging war against us. 

15. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and 
destroyed the lives of our people. 

16. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries 
to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with 
circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbar¬ 
ous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

17. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high 
seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their 
friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

18. He has excited the domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en¬ 
deavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian 
savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of 
all ages, sexes and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the 
most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by re¬ 
peated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which 
may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. We 
have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to 
extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the 
circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed 
to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the 
ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would in¬ 
evitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been 
deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, 
acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as 
we hold the rest of mankind—enemies in war; in peace, friends. 



498 


a .iilSTORS" OF THE UNITED STATES 


We therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in 
general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world 
for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority 
of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these 
united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; 
that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all 
political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they 
have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish 
commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may 
of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance 
on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other 
our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed and signed 
by the following members: 


New Hampshire 
Josiah Bartlett 
William Whipple 
Matthew Thornton 

Massachusetts Bay 


Rhode Island 

Stephen Hopkins 
William Ellery 

Connecticut 


John Hancock. 

New York 

William Floyd 
Philip Livingston 
Francis Lewis 
Lewis Morris 


Samuel Adams 
John Adams 
Robert Treat Paine 
Elbridge Gerry 
John Hart 
Abraham Clark 


Roger Sherman 
Samuel Huntington 
William Williams 
Oliver Wolcott 
Thomas M’Kean 

Maryland 


New Jersey 

Richard Stockton 
John Witherspoon 
Francis Hopkinson 

North Carolina 


Pennsylvania 
Robert Morris 
Benjamin Rush 
Benjamin Franklin 
John Morton 
George Clymer 
James Smith 
George Taylor 
James Wilson 
George Ross 

Delaware 
Caesar Rodney 
George Read 


Samuel Chase 
William Paca 
Thomas Stone 
Charles Carroll of Car¬ 
rollton 

Virginia 

George Wythe 
Richard Henry Lee 
Thomas Jefferson 
Benjamin Harrison 
Thomas Nelson, Jr. 
Francis Lightfoot Lee 
Carter Braxton 


William Hooper 
Joseph Hewes 
John Penn 

South Carolina 

Edward Rutledge 
Thomas Heyward, Jr. 
Thomas Lynch, Jr. 
Arthur Middleton 

Georgia 

Button Gwinnett 
Lyman Hall 
George Walton 


APPENDIX 


499 


THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OUTLINED 

Steps leading to the adoption of the Constitution: 

1. The New England Confederacy. 

2. The Albany Plan. 

3. The Stamp Act Congress. 

4. The Committees of Correspondence. 

5. The First Continental Congress. 

6. The Declaration of Independence. 

7. The Adoption of the Articles of Confederation. 

8. The Annapolis Convention. 

9. The Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia. 

Relative to the United States Government, the Constitution provides for: 

1. The Legislative Department. 

a. House of Representatives. 

b. Senate. 

2. The Executive Department. 

President. 

3. The Judicial Department. 

a. The Supreme Court (consisting at present of the Supreme 
Justice and nine Associate Justices). 

b. Other Courts (nine Circuit Courts, about a hundred District 
Courts, and new Court of Claims). 

Relative to the House of Representatives, the Constitution provides for: 

1. The manner of electing the members. 

By the people of the several states. 

2. The term of office. 

Two years. 

3. The qualifications of members. 

a. Twenty-five years old. 

b. A citizen of the United States for seven years. 

c. A resident of the state for which chosen. 

4. The distribution of members. 

Among the states according to the number of inhabitants (From 
1910-1920 the membership of the House of Representatives is 433 and 
the unit of representation is 212,032). 

5. The presiding officer of the House. 

Members elect the Speaker. 

6. The power to impeach Federal officers. 

7. The Census. 


500 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Relative to the Senate, the Constitution provides for: 

1. The number of members. 

Two from each state. 

2. The manner of election. 

By popular vote. 

3. The term of office. 

Six years. 

4. The qualifications of members. 

a. Thirty years of age. 

b. A citizen of the United States for nine- years. 

c. A resident of the state for -which elected. 

5. The presiding officer. 

a. Vice-president of the United States. 

b. In absence of a Vice-president, a president pro tempore elected 
by the Senate. 

6. The power to act as a court to try impeachments brought by the 
House of Representatives. 

Relative to Congress as a wdiole the Constitution provides: 

1. For the time of meeting. 

Each year on the first Monday of December. 

2. For the quorum. 

Majority. 

3. That each house determine its rule of procedure. 

4. That each house keep a journal. 

5. That neither house adjourn for more than three days without the 
consent of the other. 

6. For the method of passing laws. 

Congress has power: 

1. To lay taxes. 

2. To borrow money. 

3. To regulate commerce. 

4. To pass laws regulating— 

a. The naturalization of foreigners. 

b. Bankruptcy. 

5. To coin money. 

6. To fix the standard of weights and measures. 

7. To establish post-offices. 

8. To provide for patents and copyrights. 

9. To declare war. 

10. To raise and support armies. 


APPENDIX 


50L 


11. To maintain a navy. 

12. To provide for a standing army. 

13. To admit new states. 

14. To pass laws necessary to carry out the above powers. 

Relative to the President the Constitution provides for: 

1. The term of office. 

Four years. 

2. The manner of election. 

By presidential electors chosen by the people of the several states. 

3. The qualifications. 

a. A natural born citizen of the United States. 

b. Thirty-five years old. 

c. Fourteen years residence within the United States. 

4. The oath of office. 

To support the Constitution of the United States. 

The President’s powers: 

1. He is commander-in-chief of: 

a. The Army. 

b. The Navy. 

c. The Militia in service of the United States. 

2. He may grant reprieves and pardons. 

3. With the consent of the Senate he 

a. Makes treaties. 

b. Appoints ambassadors, ministers, consuls, Federal judges. 

The President’s chief duties are: 

1. To send or bring messages to Congress. 

2. To summon extra sessions of Congress whenever he deems it necessary. 

3. To receive ambassadors. 

4. To execute, or enforce, the laws. 

Relative to the Federal Judges the Constitution provides for: 

1. Their appointment. 

By the President with the consent of the Senate. 

2. Their membership. 

Fixed by Congress. 

3. Their term of office. 

During good behavior. 

Relative to the Federal courts, the Constitution provides for: 

1. One Supreme Court. 

2. Inferior courts to be established by Congress. 


502 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

PREAMBLE 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the com¬ 
mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of lib¬ 
erty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitu¬ 
tion for the United States of America. 


ARTICLE I 

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

The Congress: Its Divisions and Powers 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House 
of Representatives. 


The House: Its Composition and Powers 

Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the elect¬ 
ors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the state legislature. 

No person shall be a representative w T ho shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in 
which he shall be chosen. 

(Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
states which may be included within this Union, according to their respect¬ 
ive numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of 
free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and ex¬ 
cluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.*) The actual 
enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten 
years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of repre¬ 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state 
shall have at least one representative; and until such enumeration shall be 
made the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three; Massa- 

*Partly superseded by the Fourteenth Amendment. 


APPENDIX 


503 


chusetts, eight; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one; Connecti¬ 
cut, five; New York, six; New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, 
one; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, 
five; and Georgia, three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the execu¬ 
tive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other offi¬ 
cers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

The Senate: Its Composition and Powers 

Sec. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two sen¬ 
ators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; 
and each senator shall have one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. 
The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira¬ 
tion of the second year; of the second class, at the expiration of the 
fourth year; of the third class, at the expiration of the sixth year, so that 
one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by 
resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, 
the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next 
meeting of the legislature, which shall fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall 
be chosen. 

The Vice-president of the United States shall be president of the Sen¬ 
ate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice-president, or when he shall exercise 
the office of President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments; when sit¬ 
ting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no 
person shall be convicted without the concurrence of tw r o-thirds of the 
members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to re¬ 
moval from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted 
shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, 
and punishment according to law. 


504 


A HISTORY OF TPIE UNITED STATES 


Congressional Elections and Date of Assembling 

Sec. 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senato/s 
and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature 
thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such 
regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meet¬ 
ing shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
appoint a different day. 

Rules of Procedure of Senate and House 

Sec. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and quali¬ 
fications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a 
quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, 
in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its mem¬ 
bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment 
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on 
any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on 
the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Compensation and Privileges of Members 

Sec. 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for 
their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of 
the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from 
the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be 
questioned in any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall 
have been increased, during such time; and no person holding any office 
under the United States shall be a member of either house during his 
continuance in office. 


APPENDIX 


505 


Methods of Legislation 

Sec. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments 
as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of 
the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall 
return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have orig¬ 
inated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and pro¬ 
ceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that 
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objec¬ 
tions, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if 
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all 
such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be 
entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not 
be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it 
shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner 
as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent 
its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of 
adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; 
and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being 
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
case of a bill. 


Powers Vested in Congress 

Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power: 

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts 
and provide for the common defenses and general welfare of the United 
States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout 
the United States; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, 
and with the Indian tribes; 

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and 
fix the standard of weights and measures,- 


506 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and cur¬ 
rent coin of the United States; 

To establish post offices and post roads; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for lim¬ 
ited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offenses against the law of nations; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that 
use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

To provide and maintain a navy; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and navai 
forces; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 

To prov-ide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
governing sueh part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the states, respectively, the appointment of the 
officers and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress; 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such dis¬ 
trict (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government 
of the United States, and to exereise like authority over all places pur¬ 
chased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same 
shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and 
other needful buildings; and— 

To make all laws wffiich shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Consti¬ 
tution in the government of the United States, or in any department or 
officer thereof. 

Limits to Powers of the Federal Government 

Sec. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by 
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but 
a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dol¬ 
lars for each person. 


APPENDIX 507 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the 
census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to, 
or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of ap¬ 
propriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from 
time to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States. And no person 
holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent 
of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any 
kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Limits to Powers of the States 

Sec. 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; 
make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; 
pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obliga¬ 
tion of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and 
imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use 
of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject 
to the revision and control of the Congress. 

No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of ton¬ 
nage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agree¬ 
ment or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage 
in w’ar, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

The Executive Officers; the Electoral College 

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 


508 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


years, and, together with the Vice-president, chosen for the same term, 
be elected, as follows: 

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may 
direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and 
representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress; but 
no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit 

under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

(The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for 
two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted 
for, and of the rumber of votes for each; which list they shall sign and 
certify, and transmit coaled to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be 
more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of 
votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by 
ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the five highest on the list the said House shall, in like manner, choose 
the President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by 
states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-tliirds of the 
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In 
every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the great¬ 
est number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-president. But if 
there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall 
choose from them by ballot the Vice-president.*) 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible 
to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that 
office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been 
fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-president, and the Congress may 
by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, 
both of the President and Vice-president, declaring what officer shall then 

♦This paragraph was in force only from 1788 to 1803. 


APPENDIX 509 

act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability 
be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The piesident shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa¬ 
tion which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for 
which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that 
period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following 
oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faith¬ 
fully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the 
best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States.” 

Towers Granted to the President 

Sec. 2. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy 
of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called 
into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, 
in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, 
upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices; and 
he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against 
the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur; and 
he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate 
shall appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of 
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose ap¬ 
pointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab¬ 
lished by law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such 
inferior offices as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts 
of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire 
at the end of their next session. 

The President’s Duties 

Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of 
the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such meas¬ 
ures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary 
occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree¬ 
ment between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may 
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive am¬ 
bassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be 


510 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United 
States. 

Impeachment of Executive and Civil Officers 

Sec. 4. The President, Vice-president, and all civil officers of the United 
States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, 
treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 


ARTICLE III 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

The Federal Courts—Supreme and Inferior 

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in 
one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from 
time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at 
stated times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. 

Powers and Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts 

Sec. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting 
ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty 
and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States 
shall be a party; to controversies between two or more states; (between a 
state and citizens of another state*); between citizens of different states; 
between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of differ¬ 
ent states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, 
citizens, or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, 
and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme 
Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such 
exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; 
and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have 
been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall 
be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

♦Cancelled by the Eleventh Amendment. 


APPENDIX 


511 


Treason: Its Nature and Punishment 

Sec. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying 
war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony 
of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, 
except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 

RELATION OP THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS 
Recognition of State Authority 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Con¬ 
gress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, 
and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Laws Regarding Citizens of the States 

Sec. 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of citizens in the several states. 

A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall, on demand of the 
executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be 
removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein, 
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim 
of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Admission of States and Regulation of United States Territories 

Sec. 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 
other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more 
states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the 
states concerned as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to 
the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as 
to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state. 


512 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


Protection Guaranteed by the Federal Government 

Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when 
the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence. 


ARTICLE V 

POWER AND METHOD OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it neces¬ 
sary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the applica¬ 
tion of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a con¬ 
vention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to 
all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the 
legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three- 
fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be pro¬ 
posed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made 
prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner 
affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; 
and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suf¬ 
frage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

PUBLIC DEBTS; THE SUPREME LAW; OATH OF OFFICE; 

RELIGIOUS TEST PROHIBITED 

All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption 
of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under this 
Constitution as under the confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made 
pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; 
and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Con¬ 
stitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members 
of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, 
both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath 
or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall 
ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the 
United States. 


APPENDIX 


513 


ARTICLE VII 

RATIFICATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 

The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient for 
the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the 
same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United States 
of America the twelfth. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names, 

. . GEO. WASHINGTON, 

Deputy from Virginia. 


New Hampshire: 

John Langdon 
Nicholas Gilman 

Massachusetts : 

Nathaniel Gorham 
Rufus King 

Connecticut : 

William Samuel Johnson 
Roger Sherman 

New York: 

Alexander Hamilton 

New Jersey: 

William Livingston 
David Brearley 
William Paterson 
Jonathan Dayton 

Pennsylvania : 

Benjamin Franklin 
Thomas Mifflin 
Robert Morris 
George Clymer 
Thomas Fitzsimmons 
James Wilson 
Gouveneur Morris 

Attest: 


Delaware : 

George Read 
Gunning Bedford, Jr. 

John Dickinson 
Richard Bassett 
Jacob Broom 

Maryland : 

James McHenry 

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer 

Daniel Carroll 

Virginia: 

John Blair 
James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina: 

William Blount 
Richard Dobbs Spaight 
Hugh Williamson 

South Carolina: 

John Rutledge 
Charles Pinckney 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
Pierce Butler 

Georgia : 

William Few 
Abraham Baldwin 

WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 


514 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


AMENDMENTS 

Articles in addition to, and amendments of, the Constitution of the 
United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legis¬ 
latures of the several states pursuant of the fifth article of the original 
Constitution. 

AETICLE I 

FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND SPEECH; RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, 
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to 
petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

AETICLE II 

RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, 
the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

AETICLE III 

QUARTERING OF TROOPS 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without 
the consent of the owner; nor in time of war but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

AETICLE IV 

RIGHT OF SEARCH PROHIBITED 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, 
and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath 
or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the 
persons or things to be seized. 


AETICLE V 

RIGHT OF TRIAL BY JURY 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual 


APPENDIX 


515 


service in time of war and public danger; nor shall any person be subject 
for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life and limb; nor 
shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, 
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; 
nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensa¬ 
tion. 

ARTICLE VI 

RIGHTS OF ACCUSED IN CRIMINAL CASES 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy 
and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein 
the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previ¬ 
ously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of 
the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the 
assistance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII 

SUITS AT COMMON LAW 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact 
tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United 
States than according to the rules of common law. 

ARTICLE VIII 

BAIL AND FINES 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

MODIFICATION OF ENUMERATED RIGHTS 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be con¬ 
strued to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

POWERS RESERVED TO STATES AND THE PEOPLE 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to 
the people. 


516 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


ARTICLE XI 

LIMITATION TO POWER OF THE FEDERAL COURTS 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the 
United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any 
foreign state. 

ARTICLE XII 

NEW ELECTORAL LAW 

The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for 
President and Vice-president, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the per¬ 
son voted for as Vice-president; and they shall make distinct lists of all 
persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-presi¬ 
dent, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and 
certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the President of the Senate; the President of the Senate 
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having 
the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if 
no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest 
numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, 
the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the Presi¬ 
dent. But in choosing the President, the vote shall be taken by states, 
the representation from each state having one vote. A quorum for this 
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the 
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And 
if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the 
right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March 
next following, then the Vice-president shall act as president, as in the case 
of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The per¬ 
son having the greatest number of votes as Vice-president shall be the 
Vice-president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of elec¬ 
tors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two high¬ 
est numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-president. A 
quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number 
of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a 
choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of Presi¬ 
dent shall be eligible to that of Vice-president of the United States. 


APPENDIX 


517 


ARTICLE XIII 

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 

Slavery and Involuntary Servitude Prohibited 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pun¬ 
ishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall 
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 


ARTICLE XIV 

NEW LAWS MADE NECESSARY BY THE CIVIL WAR 

Qualifications for Citizenship 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and 
of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States; nor shall any state deprive auy person of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdic¬ 
tion the equal protection of the laws. 

Apportionment of Representatives 

Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per¬ 
sons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to 
vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice- 
president of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive 
or judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is 
denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty.-one years 
of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except 
for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male 
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years 
of age in such state. 

Disability for Breaking Oath of Office 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a senator, or representative in Congress, or 
elector of President or Vice-president, or hold any office, civil or military, 
under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken 
an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or 


518 


A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer 
of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have 
engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or com¬ 
fort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds 
of each house, remove such disability. 

The Public Debt 

Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized 
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for 
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. 
But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt 
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United 
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such 
debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Sec. 5. Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legis¬ 
lation, the provisions of this article. 

AETICLE XV 

RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE 

Bight Guaranteed to All Citizens 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 

AETICLE XVI 

INCOME TAX 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from 
whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, 
and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

AETICLE XVII 

ELECTION OF SENATORS 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from 
each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator 
shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifica¬ 
tions requisite for electors of the most numerous branch .of the State 
legislatures. 


APPENDIX 


519 


When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Sen¬ 
ate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to 
fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may 
empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the 
people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or 
term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Con¬ 
stitution. 


ARTICLE XVIII 

PROHIBITION 

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article, the 
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the 
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States 
and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes 
is hereby prohibited. 

Sec. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power 
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

Sec. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified 
as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several 
states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date 
of the submission hereof to the States by Congress. 

ARTICLE XIX 

WOMAN SUFFRAGE 

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be abridged 
by the United States or by any State on account of sex. 

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legisla¬ 
tion. 


PRESIDENTS, VICE-PRESIDENTS, SECRETARIES OF STATE, AND CHIEF JUSTICES 


520 A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 


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APPENDIX 


521 


TABLE OF STATES 


States 

Admission 

Capitals 

Census 
of 1920 

Number of 
Repre¬ 
sentatives 

Alabama. 

Dec. 14, 1819 

Montgomery. 

2,348,174 

10 

Arizona. 

Feb. 14, 1912 

Phoenix. 

334,162 

1 

Arkansas. 

June 15, 1836 

Little Rock. 

1,752,204 

7 

California. 

Sept. 9, 1850 

Sacramento. 

3,426,861 

11 

Colorado. 

Aug. 1, 1876 

Denver. 

939,629 

4 

Connecticut. 


Hartford. 

1,380,631 

5 

Delaware. 


Dover. 

223,003 

1 

Florida. 

Mar. 3, 1845 

Tallahassee. 

968,470 

4 

Georgia. 

Atlanta. 

2,895,832 

12 

Tdaho. 

July 3, 1890 

Boise City. 

431,866 

2 

Illinois 

Dec. 3, 1818 

Springfield. 

6,485,280 

27 

Indiana. 

Dec. 11, 1816 

Indianapolis. 

2,930,390 

13 

Iowa... 

Dec. 28, 1846 

Des Moines. 

2,404,021 

11 

Kansas 

Jan. 29, 1861 

Topeka. 

1,769,257 

8 

Kentucky 

June 1, 1792 

Frankfort. 

2,416,630 

11 

Louisiana. 

April 30, 1812 

Baton Rouge. 

1,798,509 

8 

Maine 

Mar. 15, 1820 

Augusta. 

768,014 

4 



Annapolis. 

1,449,661 

6 



Boston. 

3,852,356 

16 

Michigan 

June 26, 1837 

Lansing. 

3,668,412 

13 

Minnesota 

May 11, 1858 

St. Paul. 

2,387,125 

10 

Mississippi 

Dec. 10, 1817 

Jackson. 

1,790,618 

8 

Missouri 

Aug. 10, 1821 

Jefferson City. 

3,404,055 

16 

Montana. 

Nov. 8, 1889 

Helena. 

548,889 

2 

Nphrn.skn. 

Mar. 1, 1S67 

Lincoln. 

1,296,372 

6 

NpvaHa 

Oct. 31, 1864 

Carson City. 

77,407 

1 


Concord. 

443,083 

2 



Trenton. 

3,155,900 

12 


Jan. 6, 1912 

Santa Fe. 

360,350 

1 


Albany. 

10,385,227 

43 



Raleigh. 

2,559,123 

10 


Nov. 2, 1889 

Bismarck. 

646,872 

3 


Feb. 19, 1803 

Columbus. 

5,759,394 

22 

Oklahoma. 

Nov. 16, 1907 

Oklahoma City. 

2,028,283 

8 


Feb. 14, 1859 

Salem. 

783,389 

3 


Harrisburg. 

S,720,017 

36 



Newport. 

604,397 

3 



Columbia. 

1,683,724 

7 


Nov 2, 1889 

Pierre. 

636,547 

3 


June 1, 1796 

Nashville. 

2,337,885 

10 


Dec. 20, 1845 

Austin. 

4,663,228 

18 


Jan. 4, 1896 

Salt Lake City. 

449,396 

2 


Mar. 4, 1791 

Montpelier. 

352,428 

<y 

d* 



Richmond. 

2,309,187 

10 


Nov 11, 1889 

Olympia. 

1,356,621 

5 


June 19, 1863 

Charleston. 

1,463,701 

6 


May 29, 1848 

Madison. 

2,632,067 

11 


July 10, 1890 

Cheyenne. 

194,402 

1 
































































































































INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


(The references are to pages) 


Abbey, Edwin A., 467. 

Abercrombie, 108. 

Abnakis, 51,186. 

abolition, the act of doing away with, 245, 
246. 

abolitionist, 245, 246, 269, 273, 274, 287. 
accession, territorial— 

Mexican cession, 261. 

Gadsden purchase, 275, 289. 

Alaska, 341, 342, 478. 

Hawaii, 372, 480. 

Porto Rico, Philippines, 380, 481. 

Tutuila, Pango Pango, Christmas, Baker, 
Midway, Wake, Howland, 383. 
Louisiana, 208, 210, 284. 
acts. See bills. 

Adams, John, 141, 164, 172, 201, 283. 
vice-president, 189-201. 
reelection, 196. 
president, 202-206. 

Adams, John Quincy, 286. 
president, 235-239. 
sketch of life, 235. 

Adams, Samuel, 129, 133, 136, 171. 
Aguinaldo, Emilio, 382. 

Alabama, 230, 281, 286. 

Alabama Claims, 345, 478. 

Alabama, ship, 309, 322, 333, 345. 

Alamo, Fort, 246. 

Alaska— 

purchase of, 341, 478. 
fisheries, 367. 

Albany, 57, 79, 106. 

Albemarle Sound, 73. 

Alcott, Louisa M„ 472. 

Alert, ship, 220, 284. 

Alexander VI, Pope, 30, 59. 

Alfred, ship, 157. 

Algiers, 226. 

Algonquins, 46, 47, 91. 

alien, a foreigner; one who is not a citizen of 
a country, land, or government either 
by right of birth or naturalization, 203. 
Alien and Sedition Laws, 203, 283. 
allegiance, the duty of loyalty to one’s king, 
government, or state, 70. 

Allen, Ethan, 138, 176. 

Allouez, 53. 


amendments, Constitutional, 

Bill of Rights, first ten, 172, 189, 200. 
twelfth, 214. 

thirteenth, 326, 336, 478. 
fourteenth, 338, 339, 478. 
fifteenth, 339, 478. 
sixteenth, 402, 483. 
seventeenth, 403, 483. 
eighteenth, 441, 484. 
nineteenth, 441, 484. 

American Library Association, 423. 

American Protective Association, 271. 

Amherst, 107. 

Amnesty Proclamation, 335. 

Amsterdam, 57, 80, 123. 

Amundsen, Captain Roald, 396, 483. 

anarchist, one who aims at overthrowing the 
government, 362, 480. 

anarchy, 362, 480. 

Anderson, Robert, 294. 

Andr£, Major, 160, 161, 179. 

Andros, Sir Edmund, 81, 96, 100, 124. 

Anthracite Coal Strike, 387. 

Antietam, 308, 309, 332. 

Anti-Federalist, 170, 171. 

Anti-Saloon League, 441. 

Apostolic Delegate, 342. 

Appomattox, 324, 328, 329, 334. 

arbitration, the hearing and determining 
by an arbitrator of a matter of dispute 
between two or more parties, 345, 367, 
373, 383, 392, 397, 481. 

Argus, ship, 221. 

arid lands, irrigation of, 389. 

aristocratic, being in favor of a government 
in which the sovereign power is entirely 
in the hands of certain persons; tending 
toward disp’aying preeminence by 
reason of birth, wealth and culture, 99. 

Arizona, 35, 261, 398, 483. 

Arkansas, 247, 287, 295, 331. 

Armada, Invincible, a strong fleet composed 
of one hundred fifty ships. It was sent 
(1588) by King Philip II of Spain against 
England to avenge the raiding and 
plundering attacks of Sir Francis Drake 
and other English seamen, 43. 

Armistice, 430, 484. 


522 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


523 


army, American Revolutionary— 
in charge of Washington, 138, 176. 
at New York, 142, 180. 
hardships at Valley Forge, 152. 
on the Hudson, 162. 
army, Confederate, 296. 

disbands, 324. 
army, Union, 295, 296. 

of the Cumberland, 302, 315, 329. 
of the Tennessee, 302, 315. 
of the Potomac, 299, 306, 308, 310, 315, 
322,327. 

Arnold, Benedict, 138, 149, 160, 161, 179. 
Arsenal, U. S., 279. 
art, American, 467. 
arts are classified as: 

a. The fine arts, or arts of beauty; such 
as painting, sculpture, music, poetry, etc. 

b. The industrial or useful arts, which 
include the trades requiring chiefly 
manual labor and skill. 

c. The liberal arts embrace the higher 
branches of learning such as the lan¬ 
guages, history, sciences, etc. 

Arthur, Chester A., 356. 
assumes presidency, 357. 
president, 357-359, 479. 
sketch of life, 357. 

Articles of Confederation, 150. 

framing and adoption of, 150, 178, 179. 
defects, 165-167. 
attempt at revision, 169. 
artists, 120, 186, 467. 

assembly, a delegation of people meeting 
for the purpose of legislation, 65. 

Astor, 211. 

Astoria, 211, 284. 
astrolabe, 25. 

Atlanta, 314, 318, 333, 357. 

, Atlantic cable, 341, 478. 

Austin, Stephen F., 246. 

Australian Ballot, a system of voting by 
which secrecy is secured, the ballot used 
being furnished by the government, 
362, 480. 

Austria, 340. 

authors, American, 468-474. 

Averysboro, 320, 334. 
aviation, 424, 457. 

Aviation Bill, 424. 

Azarias, Brother, 471. 

Azores, 30. 

Aztecs, 34. 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 67, 68. 

Bacon, Roger, 24. 

Bacon’s Rebellion, 67, 124. 

Badin, Rev. Stephen, 200, 283. 

Baker, Secretary, 430. 


Baker Island, 383. 

Balboa, 33, 34, 60. 
ballot, reform of, 362, 480. 

Baltimore, 114, 182, 205, 223, 271, 331, 342, 
478, 479. 

Baltimore— 

First Lord, 69, 86. 

Second Lord, 69. 
banks, 243-245, 249, 253. 

Hamilton’s, 194. 
re-chartered, 227. 

Jackson’s veto of, 244. 
withdrawal of deposits, 244, 287. 
state, 244. 
second, 285. 

National Bank Act, 317, 333. 

“wild cat,” 244, 249. 

“pet,” 244, 249. 

treasuries and sub-treasuries, 250. 

Banks, General, 307, 313, 333. 

Baptist Church, 101. 

Barbary States, 212, 226. 

Barcelona, 29. 

Barclay, 221. 

Barry, John, 156, 173, 177. 

Bartholdi, 363. 

Barnard, George, 468. 

Barton, Clara, 376. 

Beach, Mrs. H. H. A., 465. 

Beckwith, James Carroll, 467. 

Beauregard, General, 294, 296, 299, 302, 303, 
331. 

Bedini, a representative of the Holy Father 
sent to the United States (1853), to 
examine into the state of ecclesiastical 
affairs and incidentally to call on the 
president and present to him the compli¬ 
ments and good wishes of the Holy 
Father, 270. 

Bee, General, 299. 

Belgium, in World War, 411-430. 

Bell, Alexander Graham, 349, 456. 

Bell, John, 281. 

Belleau Wood, battle, 427, 484. 
belligerent nations, nations engaged in war, 
298. 

Bemis Heights, battle, 149, 178. 

Benedict XV, Pope, 412, 446, 447, 483, 484. 
Benedictines, 29, 38. 

Bennington, battle, 149, 178. 

Benson, 467. 

Bentonville, 320. 

Bering Vitus, 342. 

Berkeley, William, 67, 68, 84. 

Berlin-Bagdad railroad, 408. 

Bermuda Islands, 139. 

Bierstadt, 467. 

Bill of Rights, 172, 189, 200. 


524 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


bills—laws—acts—measures: 

Fugitive Slave Law, 201, 269, 283. 
Naturalization Acts, 203, 214. 

Alien and Sedition Laws, 203, 283. 
Non-intercourse Act, 214, 217, 284. 

Macon Bill, 217. 

Independent Treasury Act, 250. 
Compromise of 1850, 267, 268, 273. 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 273, 289. 
nullification acts, 242. 

Force Bill, 344, 373. 

Homestead Bill, 295. 

Draft Act, 316. 

Legal Tender Act, 316. 

National Bank Act, 317, 333. 

Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, 338, 478. 

Civil Rights Bill, 338, 478. 

Bland-Allison Bill, 354, 479. 
specie payment, 346, 354. 

Civil Service Act, 357, 373. 
reconstruction acts, 338-339, 478. 

Tenure of Office Act, 339, 478. 

Chinese immigration laws, 358, 479. 
Presidential Succession Law, 360, 480. 
improvement of navy, 361. 

Interstate Commerce Act, 362, 391, 480. 
Mills Tariff Bill, 364. 

Dependent Pension Bill, 365, 480. 
McKinley Tariff Bill, 365, 395, 480. 
Sherman Act, 365, 459, 480. 
copyright law, 369. 

Wilson Tariff Act, 371, 374, 480. 

Dingley Tariff Bill, 375, 395, 481. 

Sherman Anti-trust Act, 459. 
food laws, 391. 

Spooner Act, 387. 

irrigation, law providing for, 389, 482. 
fish and game laws, 392. 

Payne-Aldrich Tariff, 395, 402, 482. 
Underwood Tariff Bill, 402, 483. 
income tax, 402, 483. 

Owen-Glass Bill, 402. 
parcel post, 403. 
tolls repeal, 403, 483. 

Biloxi, 50. 

Black Codes, 337. 

black death, a pestilence which ravaged 
Europe and Asia in the Fourteenth 
Century, 22. 
black lists, 353. 

Blaine, James G., 366. 

Blanchet, Father, 256. 

Blanco, 376. 

Bland-Allison Bill, 354, 479. 

Blashfield, 467. 

Blessed Sacrament, Sisters of the, 462. 
Blessed Virgin Mary, 54, 70, 265, 288. 
blockade, the investment of a port by a 
hostile naval force of competent strength 


to prevent commercial communication, 
212, 221, 297, 299, 300, 331, 336, 379, 
481. 

Bolsheviki, 425, 448. 

bombard, to attack with artillery, especially 
to throw shells, hot shot, etc., at or into, 
294. 

Bon Homme Richard, 157. 

Boone, Daniel, 154, 181. 

Boonesboro, 154. 

Booth, John Wilkes, 325, 334. 

Borglum, Gutzon, 468. 

Borglum, Solon H., 468. 

borough, a district or province sending mem¬ 
bers to the assembly, 65. . 

Boston, 93, 95, 128, 136, 140, 176, 182. 
Boston Massacre, 131, 176. 

Boston Port Bill, 132. 

Boston Tea Party, 132, 176. 

Boston Weekly News Letter, 119. 

Bowling Green, 301, 302. 

Boxer Uprising, 383, 390, 481, 

Boxers, a secret society in China akin to the 
Freemasons; their avowed object was 
the expulsion from China of all Chris¬ 
tians and foreigners, 383. 
boycotts, 353, 373. 

Boyl, Father Bernard, 29. 

Braddock, General, 108. 

Bradford, Governor, 91. 

Bragg, General, 302, 303, 314, 315, 332. 
Brandywine, battle, 147, 178. 

Brazil, 31, 60. 

Breboeuf, Father, 52. 

Breckenridge, John C., 277. 

Brewster, William, 91. 

British Empire, 406. 

Brooklyn Bridge, 358. 

Brooklyn Heights, 142. 

Brown, General Jacob, 222, 285. 

Brown, John, 279, 290. 

Brown University, 102. 

Brush, 467. 

Bryan, William Jennings, 374. 

Bryant, William Cullen, 285, 468, 469. 
Buchanan, Commodore Franklin, 303. 
Buchanan, James, 277, 289. 
president, 277-282. 
sketch of life, 277. 

Buck, Dudley, 469. 

Buckner, General, 301. 

Buell, 302, 303. 

Bull Run, battle, 298, 306, 308, 331. 

Bunker Hill battle, 139, 176. 
bureau— 

Freedmen’s Bill, 338. 
weather, 347. 

of American Republics, 366. 

Catholic Indian, 461. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


525 


bureau —continued 
forest service, 392. 

Burgesses, 65. 

Burgoyne, General, 139, 148, 149, 150, 177. 
Burgoyne’s invasion, 148. 

Burke, John J., 433, 435. 

Burnside, General, 308, 332. 

Burr, Aaron, 207, 209, 284. 

Butler, General, 305, 320. 

cabal, a secret association composed of a few 
designing persons; plot or conspiracy, 
153. 

cable, 341, 455, 478. 

Cabot, John, 40, 50, 59, 60, 80. 

Cabral, Pedro, 31, 60. 

Cahokia, 154. 

Calais, 98. 

Caldwell, Miss Mary, 463. 

Calhoun, John C., 219, 226, 235, 241, 245, 
256, 260, 267, 270, 289. 

California, 259, 261, 262, 263, 266, 268, 288. 
Calvert, George, 69. 

Calvin, John, 60. 

Cambridge, 93, 96. 

Camden, battle, 159, 179. 
campaign, a connected series of military 
operations forming a distinct stage in 
war or political operations preceding an 
election, 147. 
campaigns, military— 
in Pennsylvania, 147-148. 
in New York, 148-150. 
in the South, 161-162. 
in Virginia, 162-164. 
in the West, 301-303. 
peninsular, 306-308. 
in Tennessee, 318-319. 
in Georgia, 318. 
overland, 320-322. 

Campos, 376. 

Canada, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 103, 108. 
Canal, Cape Cod, 405, 483. 

Canal, Panama. See Panama. 

Canary Islands, 26. 

Canby, General, 348. 

Canon, 397. 

Canonicus, 91. 

Cantigny, battle, 427. 

Cape Breton Island, 104. 

Cape Verde Islands, 30. 
capital, national, 194. 
capitol, 207, 223, 228. 

Carmelite, 199. 

Carolina, 40. 
grant, 73. 
government, 73. 

first settlement, North Carolina, 73. 
first settlement, South Carolina, 74. 


Carolina —continued 
early history, 73-75. 
religion, 73. 

manners and customs, 75. 
and the Constitution, 171. 

Carpenters’ Hall, 133. 
carpet-baggers, 343, 478. 

Carroll, Charles of Carrollton, 141, 173, 174, 
237. 

Carroll, Daniel, 173, 174. 

Carroll, John, 174, 185, 186, 199, 283, 339, 
463, 474. 

Carteret Colony, 74. 

Carteret, George, 84. 

Carteret, Philip, 84. 

Cartier, James, 46, 60. 

Carver, John, 90. 

Cary, Alice and Phoebe, 471. 
cathedrals, 350, 466. 

Catholicity, 22, 24, 37, 46, 47, 51-55, 59, 60, 
68, 69, 70, 71, 82, 94, 101, 118, 119, 185- 
186, 225, 247, 364, 369, 399, 411-412, 
474-476, 479, 484. 

patriotism among Catholics, 172-175, 432- 
437, 446-448. 

during the Revolution, 185-186. 
in the West, 186. 
immigration, 205. 

Indian missions, 233, 461, 475. 
Anti-Catholic attacks, 247. 

(1830-1840), 251-252. 
riots against, 254-255, 288. 
in Oregon, 256-257, 287. 
in Mexico and California, 263-265. 
Know-nothingism, 270-271. 
first Plenary Council, 271. 
second Plenary Council, 342, 478. 
third Plenary Council, 175, 479. 

Indian affairs, 347-348. 
first American Cardinal, 349. 

American College at Rome, 350. 
first Catholic Lay Congress, 369. 
in Hawaii, 372. 
in Philippines, 382. 

Motu Proprio, 394, 465. 
election of Pius X, 394, 482. 
two American Cardinals, 399. 
death of Pius X, 411, 483. 
election of Benedict XV, 412, 483. 
death of Benedict XV, 446, 484. 
election of Pius XI, 447, 484. 
among Negroes, 460, 461. 
education, 460-463. 

Catholic leaders, 173, 174. 

Catholic University of America, 463. 

Catholic Women’s Societies, 436. 

Cavaliers, those of the Court party in the 
times of Kings Charles I and II. They 
were thus called from their long flowing 



526 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


locks, gay dress, and demeanors, as con¬ 
trasted with the austerity of the Parlia¬ 
mentary party, who were styled “Round- 
heads” from the mode in which they 
wore their hair closely cropped, 66, 97. 

Cedar Creek, 321. 

Cedar Mountain, 308. 

cemetery, national, 312, 333. 

census, 181, 214, 450. 

centennial, a one-hundredth celebration of 
any great event, 37. 

centennials, 349, 357-358, 368, 373, 390, 479, 
480. 

Cervera, Admiral, 378, 481. 

Chadwick, George, 465. 

Chambersburg, 321. 

Champlain, Lake, 46, 123, 224. 

Champlain, Samuel de, 46, 56, 98, 123. 

Chancellorsville, battle, 310, 320, 332. 

Chaplain’s Aid Association, 435. 

Charles I, of England, 66, 69, 70, 92, 93, 123. 

Charles II, of England, 80, 85, 96, 100, 124. 

Charleston, 74, 75, 159, 161, 163, 177, 179, 
182, 358. 
attack on, 140. 
capture of, 159. 

Harbor, 282. 

charter, an official document conveying lands 
to a company; one granting certain 
political rights and privileges to the 
people, 100. 

charter, Connecticut, 100, 124. 

Charter Oak, 100. 

charter, Rhode Island, 101, 124, 254. 

Chase, Salmon P., 295, 317, 340. 

Chateau-Thierry, battle, 424, 427, 484. 

Chautauqua, 464. 

Chattanooga, 302, 303, 313, 314, 315, 317, 
318, 333. 

Cherbourg, 322. 

Chesapeake Bay, 63, 162, 180, 223, 306. 

Chesapeake, ship, 212, 221, 284, 285. 

Chiapa, 34. 

Chicago, 230, 348, 362, 373, 451, 452, 478, 
480. 

Chickahominy River, 307. 

Chickamauga, 315, 333. 

Chile, trouble with, 367. 

Chiesa, Cardinal, 412. 

China— 

Boxer Uprising in, 383, 390, 481. 

Open Door, 383-385, 481. 

Chinese immigration, 358, 479. 

Chippewa, battle, 223, 285. 

Christina, Fort, 84. 

Christmas Island. 383. 

Chronological Review, 59-62, 123-126, 170- 
181, 283-291, 331-335, 478-485. 


Cibola, Seven cities of, according to a legend, 
when the Arabs invaded the Spanish 
peninsula, seven bishops with many fol¬ 
lowers escaped and built the seven cities 
of Cibola on an island in the Atlantic 
Ocean. One of the Indian tribes pre¬ 
served a story of seven caves in which 
their ancestors lived. This was con¬ 
founded by the Spanish with the legend¬ 
ary tale, 35. 

Cincinnati, 196. 

circumnavigation of the globe, 34, 40, 60, 61, 
200, 393, 482. 

City Hall, N. Y., 171. 

Civil Rights Bill, 338, 478. 

Civil Service Reform, 357, 360, 373, 479. 

Civil War, 199, 204, 343. 

comparative strength and resources, 291- 
294. 

causes, 294. 
first year, 294-30Q. 

Lincoln’s strategic plans, 300. 

second year, 300-310. 

third year, 310-312. 

fourth year, 317-324. 

naval operations, 303-306, 322-323. 

results, 326. 

Catholicity and, 327 
great commanders, 327. 

Catholic officers, 328. 
finances during, 295, 316. 
foreign attitude, 298, 309, 322. 
political affairs, 316-317. 
debt, 336. 

civil war in Kansas, 275, 289. 
claims— 

Alabama, 345. 
claims and occupancy— 

Spanish, 103. 

English, 80, 103. 

French, 46, 50, 103, 126. 

Dutch, 57, 79. 

Swedish, 84. 
colonial, 154. 

Oregon, 256. 

clan, a tribe composed of all the families 
tracing descent from a common ancestor. 
Clark, Rogers, conquest of the Northwest, 
154, 168, 179, 210. 

Clark, William, 210, 284, 390. 

Clay, Henry, 219, 231, 236, 267, 270, 289. 
Clermont, ship, 211. 

Cleveland, Grover, 364. 

president, 360-365, 370-375, 479, 480. 
sketch of life, 360. 
reelection, 370. 

Clinton, General, 139, 140, 153, 160, 162, 163. 
Clinton, George, 219. 

Cloverleaf Bay, 378. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 527 


Cod, Cape, 44, 90. 

Coddington, 101. 

Cold Harbor, 320, 333. 

Cole, Thomas, 467. 

College in Rome, American, “The American 
College of the Roman Catholic Church 
of the United States, Rome, Italy,” 
dates its origin to the proclamation of 
the dogma of the Immaculate Concep¬ 
tion (1854). On this occasion a number 
of American bishops, through Arch¬ 
bishop Hughes of New York and Kend¬ 
ricks of Baltimore, expressed to Pius IX 
the desire to see an American College 
established that would take rank with 
the other national colleges in that city. 
Subsequently Pius IX purchased, for 
forty-two thousand dollars an old Visita¬ 
tion Convent, then occupied by soldiers 
of the French garrison, while the Amer¬ 
ican Bishops furnished it and procured 
the funds necessary for its maintenance. 
Accordingly, the college was formally 
opened with thirteen students (Dec. 8, 
1859), and has prospered remarkably 
ever since, 350. 

colleges and universities, 462-465. 

Spanish, 37. 

William and Mary, 68, 125, 464. 

St. John’s, 72, 125. 
in New York, 83. 

Princeton, 84, 125, 464. 

Harvard, 37, 96, 464. 

Yale, 101, 125, 464. 

Georgetown, 199, 463. 

Notre Dame, 463. 

Colombia, treaty with rejected, 389. 

colonies, thirteen original, 112. 
southern group, 62-78, 182. 
middle group, 79-88, 182. 

New England group, 89-102, 182. 
territory, 112. 
population, 112. 
nationalities, 112. 
negro slavery, 112. 
industrial life, 113. 
growth of towns, 114. 
commerce, 114, 126-127. 
travel, communication, 115. 
government, 116-117, 121-122. 
religion, 117-118. 
religious intolerance, 118. 
education, 119. 
artists, 120. 
household, 120. 
amusements, 121. 

Colorado, 261, 349, 479. 

Columbia, 320, 334. 

Columbian Exposition, 373. 


Columbia University, 464. 

Columbus, 17, 21, 59. 
motives and ideas, 26. 
in quest of help, 27. 
prepares for voyage, 27. 
ships of, 28. 
first voyage, 28. 
landing, 28. 
discoveries, 29. 
return voyage, 29. 
later voyage, 29. 
results of voyages, 30. 

Columbus, Ohio, 301, 302. 
commerce— 

colonial, 114, 126. 

under the Confederation, 166, 182. 

under the Constitution, 212, 217. 

Perry’s treaty with Japan, 275, 289. 
interstate, 362, 391, 458, 480. 
with China, 384. 

Secretary of, 361. 

Tolls Repeal Bill, 403. 

Commissary Department, that department 
of an army which provides provisions, 
clothing, and all the daily necessaries 
other than those connected with actual 
fighting, 152. 

Commission— 

Geneva Arbitration, 345. 
joint high, 351. 
interstate, 362. 

Christian and sanitary, 326. 

Committee— 

of Correspondence, 133. 
framing Declaration of Independence, 141. 
framing Articles of Confederation, 150. 
“Common Sense,” 140. 

Commonwealth, a state in which the supreme 
power is vested in the people; strictly 
speaking, the form of government exist¬ 
ing under Cromwell, and his son Richard, 
67. 

Communion, decree on Holy, 394, 412. 
Community houses, 436. 

Compact, Mayflower, 90. 

Company— 

Plymouth, 44, 61. 

London, 44, 61, 62, 66. 

Dutch East India, 56. 

Dutch West India, 58, 79. 

Massachusetts Bay, 93, 123. 

Ohio, 106. 
compass, 24. 

Compromise, a settlement by arbitration or 
by mutual consent reached by concession 
of both sides, 170. 

Constitutional, 170. 

Missouri, 231, 267, 269, 273, 286. 
of 1850,267,269,273. 


528 INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Compromise —continued 
Clay’s Tariff, 243. 

Concord, 136. 

Confederacy, Southern, 281, 290, 295, 331. 
Confederation, Articles of, 150. 

Congress— 

First Continental, 133, 173, 176. 

Second, 137, 176. 

Stamp Act, 130, 176. 

of the Confederation, 166-168, 171, 179, 
180. 

powers under Constitution, 171. 

Catholic members of First, 173. 
in matters, spir tual, 185. 

First National, 189, 191. 

Connecticut, 94, 123, 168, 181. 
claim, 99. 

first settlement, 99. 
name, 99. 

early history, 99-101. 

government, 99, 100. 

religion, manners, and customs, 101. 

education, 101. 

and the Indians, 100. 

charter, 100, 124. 

Conservation, 392, 482. 

conspiracy, a combination of men for an evil 
purpose, 153. 

Constitution, 170-171. 
definition, 172. 
framing of, 169. 

adoption of by Convention, 170, 180. 
series of compromises, 170. 
plan of, 171. 
ratified by states, 171. 

Bill of Rights, 172. 
freedom of conscience, 185. 
strict construction of, 194. 
loose construction of, 195. 
twelfth amendment, 214. 
thirteenth amendment, 336, 478. 
fourteenth amendment, 338, 339, 478. 
fifteenth amendment, 339, 478. 
sixteenth amendment, 402, 483. 
seventeenth amendment, 403, 483. 
eighteenth amendment, 441, 484. 
nineteenth amendment, 441, 484. 
Constitution, ship, 220, 284. 

Continental Army, 137. 

continental line, the permanently organized 
force of the American army during the 
Revolution, 140. 

contraband, prohibited or excluded by law 
or treaty, 197. 

Convention, Constitutional, 171. 
first steps toward, 168, 169. 

Hartford, 225, 281. 
at Montgomery, 281. 

Conway Cabal, 153, 178. 


Cooper, James Fennimore, 286, 468. 
Copernicus, Nicholas, 24. 

Copley, John, 120, 186. 

Corinth, 302, 303. 

Cornell University, 464. 

Cornwallis, Lord, 144, 145, 146, 159, 160, 161 
162, 163. 

Coronado, 36, 60. 
corporations, 352, 458. 

corps, a body containing two or more divi¬ 
sions of a large army, 159. 

Corrigan, Archbishop, 368. 

Cortez, 34, 60. 

cotton, 74, 198, 297, 298, 358, 479. 
cotton gin, 198, 283. 

Council— 

First Plenary, 271. 

Second Plenary, 342, 478. 

Third Plenary, 175, 479. 

Sixth Council of Baltimore, 265. 

First Provincial, 247, 286. 
of National Defense, 416. 
countersign, a secret word or phrase which 
must be given by anyone wishing to pass 
a sentry or guard, 155. 

Cowpens, 161, 179. 

Cox, Governor, 441. 

Cox, Kenyon, 467. 

Coxey, 373. 

Crawfford, Francis Marion, 474. 

Crawford, Thomas, 468. 

Creek Indians, 223. 

Creighton University, 463. 

Cromwell, 67. 

Crown Point, 107, 108, 138, 148, 177. 
Crusades, sacred wars undertaken by the 
chivalry of Christian nations for the 
deliverance of the Holy Land, and 
especially the Sepulcher of our Lord, 
from Mohammedan oppression, 23, 59. 
Crystal Palace, 275. 

Cuba, 29, 34, 35, 36, 110, 376, 378. 
Cumberland Gap, 182, 301. 

Cumberland River, 301. 

Cumberland, ship, 304. 
currency. See money. 

Czar, Russian, 383. 

DablonFat, her, 53, 82. 

D’Ailly, Cardinal, 24. 

Dale, Sir Thomas, 64. 

Dallas, Ga., 318, 333. 

Dallin, Cyrus E., 468. 

Dalton, Ga., 315, 317, 318. 

Damien, Father, 372. 

Daniel, Father, 53. 

Dan River, 161. 

Dartmouth, 464. 

Daughters of Liberty, 130. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Davenport, John, 100. 

Davis, Jefferson, 281, 290, 296, 299, 324, 331. 
De Alarcon Hernando, 36. 
debt, 343. 

Confederate, 336, 338. 

United States, 371. 

Civil War, 371. 

Mexican, 340. 

after the Revolution, 191. 

assumption of state debts, 194. 

Debtor prisons, 167. 

Debtor prisons, English, 76, 77. 

Decatur, Stephen, 226, 285. 
decimal system of coinage, 194. 

Declaration of Independence, 140-142, 177, 
253, 363. 
signing of, 141. 
significance of, 142. 
centennial of, 349, 479. 

Declaration of Neutrality, 412, 483. 
Declaration of Rights, 130, 133. 

Declaratory Act, 130. 

De Gama, Vasca, 30, 59. 

De Gourgues, 36. 

De Kalb, Baron, 146, 159, 161, 173. 
Delaware— 
claim, 84. 

first settlement, 84. 
government, 85. 

Delaware, Lord, 64. 

delegate, one officially appointed, 130. 

De Leon, Ponce, 33, 60. 

De Lesseps, Ferdinand, 389. 

Demers, Father, 256. 

Democrats, 252, 261, 279. 

contest election, 351. • 

elect presidents, 240, 249, 258, 273, 277, 
360, 370, 401. 

Democrats, Southern. See Southern Whites. 
De Monts, Sieur, 98. 
departments, administrative, 191. 
of War, 347. 
of Agriculture, 308, 347. 
of Commerce and Labor, 361. 
new department of Labor, 361. 

De Smet, Father, 233, 256, 287. 

De Soto, 36, 60. 

Detroit, 50, 110, 154, 219. 

De Vaca, Cabeza, 35, 60. 

Dewey, Admiral, 379, 481. 

Dey, the name given to the commanding 
officer of the corps of Algiers, 226. 

Diaz, Bartholomew, 25, 59. 

Diaz, President, 397, 404. 

Dieppe, 54. 

Dingley Tariff Bill, 375, 481. 

Dinwiddie, Governor, 106. 
diplomacy, the art and practice of conduct¬ 
ing negotiations between nations, par¬ 
ticularly in securing treaties, 341. 


District of Columbia, 267. 

Dixon, Jeremiah, 71. 
documents—• 

Mayflower Compact, 90. 

Declaration of Rights, 130, 133. 
Declaration of Independence, 140, 177. 
Articles of Confederation, 150, 165. 
Ordinance of 1787, 168, 180. 
Dominicans, 34, 38. 

Donelson, Fort, 301, 302, 328. 

Dongan Charter, 81. 

Dongan, Thomas, 81. 

Donnelly, Eleanor C., 474. 

Dorchester, 93. 

Dorchester Heights, 140. 

Dorr, Thomas, 254. 

Dorsey, Anna Hanson, 472. 

Douglas, Stephen A., 273, 279, 289. 
Douglass, Frederick, 460. 

Dover, 98. 

Draft Act, 316, 417. 

Draft Riot, 316, 333. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 40, 43, 61. 

Dred Scott Decision, 277, 278, 279, 281, 1 
Drexel, Mother Catharine, 462. 
Druillettes, Father, 51. 

Dubourg, Bishop, 233. 

Duke of York, 80, 81, 83. 

Duluth, 50. 

Duquesne, Fort, 106, 107, 108. 

Dutch— 

maritime enterprise, 56-57. 
first voyage, 56. 

discoveries and explorations, 56. 

and the Indians, 56, 80. 

first settlement, 56. 

claims and occupancy, 57, 79, 99. 

governors, 80. 

Eads, Captain, 353. 

Early, General Jubal, 321, 333. 

East Indies, 56. 

East India Company, 56. 

Eaton, Theophilus, 100. 

Edison, Thomas A., 455, 457, 479. 
education, 119, 460-465. 

in colonies. See under each colony. 
Ordinance of 1787, 168. 
during Revolution, 185. 

Catholic, 199, 251, 257, 271, 461-463. 
“School Question,” 255. 

Morrill Tariff, 308. 
of negroes, 460, 461. 

American College at Rome, 350. 
in South, 358. 
of Indians, 461. 

Normal schools, 463. 

Educational Association, Catholic, 464. 
Edward, Fort, 148, 177. 

Edward, ship, 156, 177. 


530 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Edwards, Jonathan, 119, 125, 

Egan, Maurice Francis, 474. 

El Caney, 379, 481. 

Electoral College, 351. 
electric street cars, 455. 

Elizabeth, Queen, 42, 89. 

Eliot, John, 37, 95. 

emancipation, the act of setting free from 
the power of another, 309, 336, 337. 
embargo, an order of the government pro¬ 
hibiting the entry or departure of ships 
of commerce, in ports within its domin¬ 
ions, 197. 

Embargo Act, 213, 284. 

Emerson, 287, 469. 

emigrated, to have come from one country, 
state or region, to another for the purpose 
of settling there, 17. 

Emma Willard School, 464. 

Endicott, John, 93. 

England, 56, 103, 340. 
first voyages, 40. 

discoveries and explorations, 40-45. 
motives for colonization, 40, 126. 
attempts at colonization, 42. 
first permanent settlement, 62, 123. 
maritime supremacy, 44. 
claims and occupancy, 52, 80. 103, 
and the Indians, 63, 64, 86, 91. 
and her colonies, 126. 

during the War of the Revolution, 126-164. 
refuses commercial treaty, 166. 
plunders American ships, 212, 216. 
second war with, 217-226. 
during Civil War, 298, 309, 322. 
treaties with, 164, 225, 256, 258, 288. 
and Alabama claims, 345. 
envoy, a person appointed by a government 
to negotiate a treaty or transact other 
business, 202. 

Envoys, A, B, C, 404. 

Era of Good Feeling, 228. 

Ericson, Leif, 22, 59. 

Ericsson, John, 305. 

Erie, 106. 

Erie Canal, 236, 285. 

Essex, ship, 220, 221, 284. 

Evans, Rear Admiral, 393. 

Ewing, 329. 

expansion. See “Territorial Expansions.” 
Express, Pony, 268. 

expropriate, to deprive of possession or 
proprietary rights, 350. 

Fair Oaks, 307, '332. 

Faneuil Hall, 131, 133. 

Farley, Cardinal, 399, 433, 482. 

Farragut, David, 305, 322, 328, 332, 333. 
Federal Hall, 189, 368. 


Federal Reserve Act, 402. 

Federalists, 171, 195, 207, 219, 225, 228. 

elect president, 202. 

Ferdinand, Archduke, 409. 

Ferdinand, King, 27, 59. 

Ferguson, 159. 

Field, Cyrus W., 341. 

“fifty-four forty or fight,” 256. 

Fillmore, Millard, 266. 

president, 268-271. 

Finn, Father Francis, S. J., 473. 

Fisher, Fort, 323, 334. 

Fitzsimmon, Thomas, 173, 174. 

Five Forks, 323, 334. 

Five Intolerable Acts, 132, 176. 

Five-power treaty, 445, 484. 

Flathead Indians, 256, 287. 

Florida, 110, 112, 257, 281, 288. 
discovered, 33, 60. 
attempted conquest of, 35. 
first Church in, 37. 
martyrs in, 38. 

Spain cedes to England, 110. 

Purchase, 229, 286. 

Florida, ship, 309, 322. 

Florrissant, 256. 

flotilla, a little fleet, or a fleet of small 
vessels, 301. 

Foch, Ferdinand, 426, 428, 429. 
food laws. See bills. 

Foote, Commodore, 301, 303, 331. 

Forbes, General, 108. 

Force Bills, or Ku Klux Klan Act, 344, 373. 
Fort Orange, 80. 

“forty-niners,” 262. 

Four-power treaty, 445, 484. 

“Fourteen Points,” 437, 438, 446, 484. 

France, 56, 103, 164, 340, 406. 
first voyage, 46. 

discoveries and explorations, 46-55. 

claims and occupancy, 46, 50, 103, 126. 

missionaries, 51-54. 

first permanent settlement, 46. 

and the Indians, 47, 56, 104. 

at war, 196. 

plunders American ships, 212. 
during the Civil War, 298. 

Francis I of France, 46, 60. 

Franciscan, 38, 47, 49, 51, 186, 263. 
Franco-Prussian War, 407. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 106, 119, 125, 130, 134, 
141, 164, 186, 187. 

Fredericksburg, 309, 332. 

Freedman’s Bureau Bill, 338, 478. 
freeman, a member of a town, or state, who 
has the right of suffrage, 254. 

Freemason, 271. 

Fremont, John C., 260, 288, 307. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


531 


French and Indian War, 104, 106, 109, 112, 
125, 126. 

French Panama Canal Company, 388. 

Frolic, ship, 220, 284. 

Frontenac, Count, 47. 

Frontenac, Fort, 4£ 

frontier, that part of a country which fronts 
or faces another country or an un¬ 
settled region, 217. 

Fugitive Slave Law, 201, 266, 269, 283. 

Fuller, Melville W., 398. 

Fulton, Robert, 211, 284. 

Fundamental Orders, the, 100. 

Gadsden, General James 275. 

Gadsden Purchase, 275, 289. 

Gag Law, 246. 

Gage, General, 136, 139. 

Gaines, Fort, 323. 

Galileo, 24. 

Callitzin, Prince Priest, 200, 233. 

Garacontie, 53. 

Garfield, James A.— 
president, 356-359, 479. 
sketch of life, 356. 
assassination, 356, 479. 

Garrison, William Lloyd, 245, 287. 

Gates, General, 139, 149, 159, 161, 17S. 
Gavazzi (gavatse), ex-Carmelite, 270. 

Genet, 196, 197. 

Geneva Arbitration Commission, 345. 

George I of England, 125. 

George II of England, 76, 106. 

George III of England, 127, 128, 130, 133, 
176. 

Georgetown University, 199, 463. 

Georgia, 112, 162, 281, 339. 
grant, 76. 
name, 76. 

first settlement, 76. 

object, 76. 

early history, 76-77. 

Georgia, ship, 309. 

Germany, 407. 

Germantown, battle, 147, 178. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 202, 219. 

Gettysburg, Address, 312, 333. 

Gettysburg, battle, 310, 333. 

Ghent, Treaty of, 225. 

Gibault, 154, 186. 

Gibbons, Cardinal, 473, 475, 476, 484. 
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 42. 

Gilchrist, William H., 465. 

Gompers, Samuel, 420. 

Good Hope, Cape of, 25, 30, 31, 59. 
Goodyear, Charles, 454. 

Gorges, 98. 

Gorton, 130. 

Gosnold, Bartholomew, 44, 61. 


Gothic, of or pertaining to the style of archi¬ 
tecture so-called; characterized by 
pointed arches, steep roofs, large win¬ 
dows, and generally great height, 467. 

Grand Model, 73. 

Grant, General, 399, 478. 

Campaigns in the West, 301-303, 313-316. 
Commander-in-chief, 317-324. 
president, 343-350, 478. 
sketch of life, 343. 
reelection, 478. 

Gray, Captain, 200, 283. 

Great Britain. See England. 

Great Eastern, ship, 341. 

Great Law, Penn’s, 87. 

Greeley, Horace, 345. 

Greene, General, 139, 161, 173, 179, 180. 

Green Mountain Boys, 138. 

Greenough, Horatio, 467. 

Gregorian Chant, a kind of unisonous or 
plain music according to the eight cele¬ 
brated Church modes as arranged and 
prescribed by Pope Gregory in the sixth 
century, 465. 

Groce, 397. 

Guadalupe Hidalgo, a suburb of the city of 
Mexico famous as containing the shrine 
of “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” 261, 262, 
288. 

guerrilla, an irregular mode of carrying on 
war; the constant attacks by independent 
bands, 382. 

Guerriere, ship, 220, 284. 

Guilford Court House, 162, 180. 

Guiteau, Charles, 356, 479. 

Gutenberg, 59. 

Hague, The, 383, 392, 481. 

Tribunal, 392, 397, 482. 

Haiti, 29, 59. 

Hale, Nathan, 144. 

Half Moon, ship, 56. 

Halifax, 140, 142. 

Halleck, Henry W., 301, 315. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 169, 191, 192, 193. 
leader of Federalists, 171, 195. 
financial plan of, 191. 
killed in duel, 209, 284. 

Hamlin, Hannibal, 281. 

Hampton Roads, the rear portion of Chesa¬ 
peake Bay near Fortress Monroe, Vir¬ 
ginia, 303, 305, 331, 393. 

Hancock, John, 136, 141, 171. 

Harding, Warren G.— 

president, 441, 443-448, 484. 
sketch of life, 443. 

Harper’s Ferry, 279, 308, 332. 

Harrison, Benjamin— 
president, 365-369, 480. 


532 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Harrison, Benjamin —continued 
sketch of life, 365. 

Harrison, William, 217, 222, 284, 287. 
president, 253, 287. 
sketch of life, 253. 
death, 253, 287. 

Harrison’s Landing, 308. 

Hartford, 99. 

Hartford Convention, 225, 281, 285. 
Harvard, John, 96. 

Harvard University, 37, 96, 124, 464. 
Havana, 378, 481. 

Hawaiian revolution, 371, 480. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 286, 470. 
Hay-Pauncefote treaty, 389. 

Hay, Secretary, 383, 389, 391. 

Hayes, Archbishop, 435. 

Hayes, Rutherford B.— 
election of, 351. 
president, 351-355, 479. 
sketch of life, 351. 

Hayne, Robert, 241. 

Hennepin, Father, 50. 

Henry II of France, 60. 

Henry IV of France, 70. 

Henry VII of England, 40, 59. 

Henry VIII of England, 59. 

Henry, Fort, 301. 

Henry, Patrick, 129, 130, 134, 171. 

Henry, Prince, 24, 25. 

Herkimer, General, 149. 

Hessians, troops hired by England from sev¬ 
eral German principalities. The Hes¬ 
sians, many of whom (all of the three 
thousand Westphalians) were Catholic, 
did their duty in America bravely and 
faithfully, with loyalty to a service from 
which they could expect no profit of 
their own. The charge sometimes made 
that they were cruel brabarians is false. 
They fought because they could not help 
it. The shame belonged to their princes, 
and not to themselves, 140, 145, 177. 
hierarchy, a body of persons, bishops, and 
priests, to whom is entrusted the gov¬ 
ernment of the Church, 368. 

Hill, 467. 

Hobson, Richmond, 379, 481. 

Holland, 57, 79, 83, 89. 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 220, 287, 470. 

Holy Alliance, 231, 251. 

Holy City, 251. 

Homer, Winslow, 467. 

Homestead Bill, 295. 

Hood, General, 318, 319, 320, 334. 

Hooker, Joseph, 309, 310, 315, 333. 

Hooker, Thomas, 99. 

Hoover, Herbert, 420, 421. 

Hopkins, Stephen, 142. 


Hopkinson, Joseph, 203. 

Hornet, ship, 220, 285. 

Horsehoe Bend, 223, 285. 

House of Burgesses, 65, 66, 92, 123. 

House of Commons, one of the divisions of 
the English Parliament consisting of the 
representatives of the common people, 
65. 

House of Lords, one of the divisions of the 
English Parliament consisting of Lords 
spiritual (bishops and archbishops). 
Lords temporal (hereditary or created 
nobles), 65. 

Houston, Samuel, 246, 287. 

Howe, Elias, 288, 454. 

Howe, General, 139, 140, 142, 143, 147, 149, 
152,153. 

Hudson, Henry, 56-58, 79, 99, 123. 

Huerta, 404. 

Hughes, Archbishop, 255, 300, 329, 333, 348, 
471. 

Hughes, Charles E., 415, 445. 

Huguenots, 36. 

Hull, Isaac, 220, 284. 

Hull, William, 219. 

Hunt, Richard M., 467. 

Huron Indians, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53. 

Hutchinson, Anne, 95, 101. 

Idaho, 368, 480. 

Illinois State, 230, 286. 

Immigration, 205, 251, 358, 396, 451. 

impeachment, the calling to account of a 
public officer for bad management of 
any business, 340, 362, 478. 

impressment of seamen, 212, 216. 

Incas, 34. 

income tax, 402. 

Independence Hall, 140. 

Independent treasury, a private place to keep 
the money of the government when not 
in use, originally provided for during 
Van Buren’s administration. It re¬ 
lieves the government of depending 
upon the banks for public money, 
250, 258. 

India, 117. 
trade with, 24. 
new route to, 30, 31. 

Indiana, 227, 285. 

Indians— 

name and origin, 17. 
characteristics, 17. 
manners and customs, 17. 
religion, 18. 

in colonies. See under each colony. 

See also names of tribes such as Algon- 
quins, Hurons, Sioux, Tuscaroras. 
degrees of civilization, 19. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


533 


Indians —continued 

mounds and mound builders, 21. 
first Christians, 29. 
industrial conditions, new, 352. 
industries, 453. 

Inness, George, 467. 

Insurance Act, 423, 484. 

insurrection, a rising against an established 
government; rebellion, 167. 

Inter-colonial Wars, 103-111. 
causes, 103. 

internal improvement, national, 235, 236, 
250, 295, 308. 

Interstate, existing between or including 
different states; Commerce Act, 362, 
391, 480. 

inventions and discoveries, 198, 211, 284, 
341, 454-457. 

Iow'a, 263, 288. 

Ironclads, battle between, 303-305, 331, 353. 
Iroquois, or Six Nations, 46, 47, 56, SO, 108, 
154. 

Irving, Washington, 286, 468. 

Isabella, Haiti, 30, 59. 

Isabella, Queen, 27, 29, 59. 

Island No. 10, 303, 332. 

Jack, Captain, 348. 

Jackson, Andrew, 225, 229, 285. 
president, 240-249, 286. 
sketch of life, 240. 
reelected, 243, 287. 

Jackson, Fort, 305, 306. 

Jackson, Helen Hunt, 472. 

Jackson, Stonewall, 299, 307, 308, 310, 328, 
332. 

James I of England, 66, 89, 123. 

James II of England, 96, 100, 104. 
Jamestown, 62-69. 

Jamestown Exposition, 390. 

Japan, treaty with, 275, 289, 396, 482. 

Jasper, Sergeant, 140. 

Jay, John, 164, 191, 197. 

Jay’s Treaty, 197, 202, 283. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 171, 191. 
vice-president, 201, 202-206. 
president, 207-214, 284. 
sketch of life, 207. 
reelection, 209. 

Jesuits, 47, 51, 52, 54, 69, 72. 

Jewish Welfare Relief, 423. 

Jogues, Father, 52. 

Johns Hopkins University, 464. 

Johnson, Andrew — 
sketch of life, 335. 
president, 335-342, 478. 
impeachment, 340, 362, 478. 

Johnson, Eastman, 467. 

Johnson, Sir William, 108. 


Johnston, Albert Sidney, 301, 302, 328, 332. 
Johnston, Joseph E., 306, 307, 315, 317, 318, 
320, 323, 324, 328. 

Johnstown flood, 369, 480. 

Joliet, 47, 48. 

Jones, Jacob, 220. 

Jones, Paul, 156,157,179. 

Juarez, Juan, 35, 60. 

Kansas, 36, 273, 279, 289. 

Kansas, civil war in, 275, 289. 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 273, 289. 

Kaskaskia, 52, 154. 

Kearny, Stephen W., 260, 288. 

Kearney, Philip, 328, 329. 

Kearsarge, ship, 322, 333. 

Kemys, Edward, 468. 

Kendrick, Archbishop, 271. 

Kenesaw Mountain, 318, 333. 

Kentucky, 154, 181, 200, 225, 283, 302, 303. 
Key, Francis Scott, 223. 

Ivieft, Governor, 80. 

King George's: War, 104. 

King Philip’s War, 95, 124. 

King William’s War, 104. 

King’s Mountain, battle of, 159, 179. 

Knights of Columbus, 423, 433. 
Know-Nothingism, 271, 289. 

Knox, Henry, 191. > 

Kosciusko, 146, 173. 

Ku Klux Klan, 344, 478. 

Ladies of the Sacred Heart, 233. 

La Farge, John, 467. 

Lafayette, Marquis, 146, 163, 173, 232, 286. 
Lake Erie, battle, 221. 

Lallemand, Father, 52. 

land bounty, in the United States public 
lands set apart as a compensation for 
military services, 168. 
lands, national, 389. 

Northwest Territory, 168, 196. 
states relinquish claims, 168. 
sale of, 244, 295, 389. 

Morrill Tariff, 308. 

La Rabida, Franciscan monastery not far 
from Palos, 28. 

La Salle, Robert, 48, 49. 

Las Casas, Bartholomew, 34, 60. 

Latin America, 366. 

Latter-Day Saints, 251. 

Lawrence, Captain, 220, 221. 

laws. See bills. 

league, about three miles, 30. 

League of Nations, 438, 439, 484. 

Le Boeuf, fort, 106. 

Lee, Charles, 140, 144, 153. 

Lee, Fort, 142, 144, 177. 

Lee, Henry, 159, 162, 328. 


534 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Lee, Richard Henry, 140. 

Lee, Robert E., 317,’320, 321, 323, 328. 
in command, 307. 
first invasion of North, 308-310. 
second invasion of North, 310-312. 
surrender, 324, 334. 

Legal Tender Act, 316. 

legation, the official residence or place of 
business of the chief of a diplomatic 
mission, 385. 

Leisler, Jacob, 82, 124. 

Leisler’s Rebellion, 82, 124. 

Leo XIII, Pope, 393, 479, 482. 
Leopard-Chesapeake Insult, 212, 284. 
Leopard, ship, 212, 284. 

Leopoldina Society, 251. 

Lewis, Meriwether, 210, 284, 390. 

Lexington, battle, 136, 176. 

Lexington, ship, 156. 

Liberal Republican party, 345. 

Liberator,” “The, 245, 287. 

Liberty bell, 142. 

Liberty Laws, Personal, 269, 289. 

Liberty Loan, 422, 483. 

Lilienthal, Otto, 457. 

Liliuokalani, Queen, 371, 480. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 279, 280,281,335,336,468. 
inauguration, 291, 331. 
president, 291-324, 331. 
reelection, 324, 334. 
assassination, 325, 334. 

Lincoln, Benjamin, 159, 163. 

Lincoln-Douglas debate, 279, 289. 

Line of Demarcation, 30, 59. 
literature— 

Colonial, 119. 

during Revolution, 186-187. 
after Revolution, 468-474. 

Little Belt, ship, 217, 284. 

Livingston, Robert, 141, 189, 208. 

Locke, John, 73. 

London Company, 44, 61, 62. 

Long Island, battle of, 143, 177. 

Longfellow, 91, 107, 137, 287, 469. 

Lookout Mountain, 315, 333. 

Louis XIV of France, 49. 

Louis XVI of France, 157, 196. 

Louisburg, 104, 107. 

Louisiana, 227, 281, 283, 284. 

purchase of, 208, 284. 

Lowell, Francis, 199. 

Lowell, James R., 288, 470. 

Lundy's Lane, battle, 223, 285. 

Lusitania, ship, 414, 483. 

Luther, Martin, 60. 

Lynch, Dominic, 174. 

MacMonnies, F. W., 468. 

Macon Bill, 217. 


Madero, Francisco, 397, 404. 

Madison, James, 171, 187. 
president, 216-227, 284. 
sketch of life, 216. 
reelection, 219. 

Magellan, 34, 40, 60. 

Maine, 98, 112, 230, 286. 

Maine, ship, 376, 377, 481. 

Malvern Hill, 308. 

Manassas Junction, battle, 299. 

Mann, Horace, 463. 

man-of-war, an armed vessel belonging to a 
navy, 157. 

Manship, Paul, 468. 

manufacturing, 126, 127, 183, 198, 226. 

Marco Polo, 23, 24, 59. 

Marconi, William, 456. 

Marcos, Friar, 35, 60. 

marque and reprisal, letters of, a license 
granted by a government to a private 
person to fit out an armed ship, to cruise 
at sea and make prizes of the enemy’s 
ships and merchandise, 297. 

Marquette, Father, 47, 48, 52, 53. 

Marshall, James W., 262. 

Marshall, John, 202, 205, 210. 

Martin, Homer, 467. 

Maryland, 70, 168, 181. 
grant, 69, 70. 
first settlement, 69, 123. 
early history, 69-72. 
purpose, 69. 

religion, education, manners, customs, 71, 
72. 

Mason and Dixon’s line, 71, 112, 125, 187. 

Mason and Slidell, 299. 

Mason, Charles, 71. 

Mason, John, 98, 100. 

Mason, William, 465. 

Mass, Holy Sacrifice of, 52, 118. 
first in America, 30, 59. 
first in New France, 47. 
first and second in Maryland, 69. 
first in New York, 82. 
first in Philadelphia, 88. 
first in New England, 98. 

Massachusetts, 90, 94, 96, 99, 100, 101. 
purpose of settlement, 89. 
first settlements, 90, 92, 93. 
early history, 89-98. 

Indians, 91. 
religion, 89, 94. 
government, 92, 93. 
character of settlers, 97. 
education, 96. 
manners and customs, 97. 

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 91, 93, 100. 

Massachusetts Bill, 132. 

Massasoit, 91, 101. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


535 


Mather, Cotton, 119. 

Maximilian, 340, 478. 

Mayflower, ship, 89, 90. 

McAdoo, William G., 421. 

McAllister, Fort, 319. 

McClellan, George B., 298, 299, 306, 307, 
308, 327, 332, 364, 479. 

McCloskey, Cardinal, 349, 350, 364, 479. 
McDonough, Commodore, 224. 

McDowell, Edw'ard A., 465. 

McDowell, General, 298, 306, 307, 331. 
McHenry, Fort, 224. 

McKenna, Rev. John, 118. 

McKinley Tariff Bill, 365, 395. 

McKinley, William, 375. 
president, 375-385, 386, 481. 
sketch of life, 375. 
reelected, 386, 481. 
assassination, 386, 481. 

McMahon, 329. 

Meade, George E., 310, 332. 

Meagher, Thomas F., 329. 

Measures of Congress. See Bills. 

Melville, David, 454. 

Memphis, 303, 332. 

Menard, Father, 53. 

Menendez, 36, 60. 

Merrimac, coaling vessel, 379, 481. 

Merrimac, ship, 303, 305, 331. 

Merritt, General, 379. 

Meuse-Argonne, battle, 424, 429, 484. 
Mexican border warfare, 397, 404. 

Mexico, 34, 36, 60, 246, 286, 478. 

French set up Republic in, 340. 
war with, 259-261, 288. 
treaty with, 261, 275, 288. 

Mexico, city of, 261, 288. 

Miami Indians, 48. 

Michigan, 247, 287. 

Michigan University, 464. 

Midway Island, 383. 

Mill Springs, battle, 301. 

Mimms, Fort, 223. 

Minnesota, 279, 289. 

Mint, United States, 194. 

Minuit, Peter, 79, 80. 

Minute-men, 134, 137, 160. 
missionaries— 

Spanish, 38, 263. 

French, 47, 51-54. 
in the West, 200. 
among Indians, 233. 
to Oregon, 256, 287. 
in Mexico and California, 263. 

Missionary Ridge, 315, 333. 

Mississippi, 230, 281, 285, 339. 

Missouri, 230, 286. 

Compromise, 231, 286. 

Mobile, 315, 322, 333. 


Modoc Indians, 348, 479. 

Mohawk Indians, 47, 51, 52. 

Mohegan Indians, 100. 

money— 

during the Revolution, 146, 162. 
after the Revolution, 166. 
mint, 194. 

“rag,” 244. 

surplus loaned to States, 245. 
greenbacks, 296, 316. 
gold, 296, 346, 347. 
silver, 346, 347. 

Monitor, ship, 304, 305, 331. 

Monmouth, battle of, 153, 178. 

Monroe Doctrine, 231, 232, 286, 341, 372. 
violation of, 340. 

Monroe, James, 208. 
president, 228-233, 285, 286. 
sketch of life, 228. 

Monsignore, an ecclesiastical dignity bestowed 
by the Pope, entitling the bearer to 
social and domestic rank at the Papal 
court, 270. 

Montana, 368, 480. 

Montcalm, Marquis, 106, 109, 125. 

Moors, the Moors, followers of Mohammed, 
originally came from Arabia, whence 
they swept along the northern coast of 
Africa as far west as the Strait of Gib¬ 
raltar. Crossing the strait, they con¬ 
quered the greater part of the Spanish 
peninsula. They, however, lost power 
before the Christian kingdoms of Aragon 
and Castile, and finally their possessions 
were limited to the kingdom of Granada, 
which surrendered to Ferdinand, the 
Catholic (1492). The expelled Moors 
settled in northern Africa and eventually 
developed into the piratical states of 
Barbary, 27. 

Moran, 467. 

Morgan, Daniel, 150, 161. 

Morgan, Fort, 323. 

Mormons, 251, 286, 288. 

Morrill Tariff, 308. 

Morris, Robert, 146. 

Morse, Samuel F. B., 254, 288. 

Morton, William, 465. 

Motley, John, 472. 

Motu Proprio, the name given to certain 
papal rescripts on account of the clause 
motu proprio (of his own accord) used in 
the document, 465. 

Moultrie, Colonel, 140. 

Moultrie, Fort, 140 

mounds and mound builders, 21. 

Moylan, Stephen, 173. 

Muldoon, Bishop, 434. 

Mulligan, Colonel, 329. 


536 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Murfreesboro, battle, 303, 313, 332. 

Napoleon, 203, 208, 212, 217. 

Napoleon III, 340. 

Narragansett Indians, 91, 100. 

Narvaez, 35, 60. 

Nashville, 302, 319, 334. 

National Catholic War Council, 423, 433, 
434, 435,436. 

National Catholic Welfare Council, 437. 
National War Labor Board, 420. 
naturalization, 271, 391. 

Acts, 203, 214. 
naval cruise, 392, 482. 

Navigation Acts, 67, 114, 126. 
navy, improvement of, 361. 

Nebraska, 341, 478. 

Necessity, Fort, 106. 
negroes, 269, 337, 339, 460. 

Dred Scott Decision, 277, 279, 280. 
education, 461. 
emancipated, 309, 338, 339. 

Netherland, New, 80, 85. 

neutrality, the state of refraining from aiding 
or interfering with belligerent nations, 
196. 

neutrality, declaration of, 412, 483. 

Nevada, 322, 334. 

New England, 44, 81, 93. 

New England Confederation, 94, 124. 

New Hampshire, 98 
grant, 98. 

first settlement, 98. 
early history, 98. 
government, 98. 
customs, manners, industry, 98. 
character of colonists, 98. 

New Haven, 94, 100, 101. 

New Jersey, 81. 
grant, 84. 

first settlement, 84. 
government, 84. 

New Mexico, 37, 61, 261, 267, 288, 398, 483. 
New Orleans, 38, 50, 54, 104, 285, 305, 332, 
358, 366, 479. 

New York, 46, 47, 52, 56, 57, 80, 81, 84, 114, 
142, 144, 168, 171, 181, 182. 
claim, 79. 
object, 79. 
trading posts, 79. 
first settlement, 79, 123. 
early history, 79-83. 
patroon system, 79. 
government, 80, 81. 

Indians, 80. 
name, 80. 

captured by English, 80. 
religion, education, manners, customs, 82. 
Newfoundland, 42, 104, 341. 


Newport, 101. 

newspaper— 
first, 119. 
first daily, 119. 
first weekly, 119. 
number, 187. 

Newton, 329. 

Newtown, 96. 

Nevada, 261, 322, 334. 

Niagara, Fort, 107, 108. 

Nicaragua, trouble with, 397. 

Nina, 28, 29. 

Non-intercourse Act, 214, 217, 284. 

North Carolina settled, 73. 
during Civil War, 295, 331. 

North Dakota, 368, 480. 

North, Lord, 163. 

Northmen, 22, 23, 59. 

Northwest Territory, 154, 155, 168, 179. 

Notre Dame of Namur, 257. 

Notre Dame University, 463. 

Nova Scotia, 46, 60, 61. 

Nullification Act, 242, 281, 287. 

Nuncio, a permanent official representative 
of the Pope at a foreign court or seat of 
government, 270. 

oath of allegiance, a declaration under oath 
by which a person promises fidelity and 
loyalty to a particular government or 
sovereign, 155. 

oath of office, a solemn declaration made by 
a public official with his hand on the 
Bible, to preserve, protect, and defend 
the Constitution of the United States 
and faithfully to perform the duties of 
his office, 189. 

O’Brien, Jeremiah, 173. 

O’Connell, Cardinal William, 399, 433, 482. 

Oglethorpe, James, 76, 77, 125. 

O’Hara, General, 163. 

Ohio, 196, 214, 284. 

Oklahoma, 367, 391, 480. 

Omnibus Bill, 267, 269. 

“Open Door” with China, 383, 481. 

Orders in Council, 212, 217, 284. 

Ordinance of 1787, 168, 180, 185, 187, 231. 

Oregon, 211, 279, 287, 290. 

Oregon, ship, 389. 

Oriskany, battle, 149, 178. 

Osgood, Samuel, 191. 

Otis, James, 128. 

Ottawas, 52. 

Owen-Glass Bill, the currency measure 
enacted during President Wilson’s ad¬ 
ministration. It is so called because 
Senator Owen of Oklahoma had charge 
of it in the Senate, and Representative 
Glass of Virginia in the House, 402. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


537 


Paca, William, 173. 

Paine, John Knowles, 465. 

Paine, Thomas, 140. 

Pakenham, Edward, 224. 

Palma, Don Tomas Estrada, 381. 

Palmer, Erastus Dow, 468. 

Pan-American Congress, 366, 480. 

Panama Canal, 387-389. 

Pango Pango, 383. 
panic— 

of 1837, 249, 287. 
of 1857, 279, 289. 
of 1873, 346, 479. 
of 1893, 370. 
prevention of, 403. 

Papal Nuncio, 270. 
parcel post, 403, 483. 

Paris, treaty of, 110, 125, 164, 180, 185. 
Parker, Alton B., 390. 

Parker, Horatio, 465. 

Parker, James Dunn, 465. 

Parker, Theodore, 246. 

Parkman, Francis, 289, 472. 
parliament, the national assembly of the 
British nation embracing two branches, 
the House of Lords and the House of 
Commons, 92. 

Parliamentary Party, 93. 

parole, promise upon one’s faith or honor to 
fulfill stated conditions, such as not to 
bear arms against one’s captors, to re¬ 
turn to custody, or the like; a watchword 
given only to officers of guards, as dis¬ 
tinguished from a countersign given to 
all guards, 324. 

parties, political, 171, 194, 236. 

Federalists. See Federalists. 
Anti-Federalists. See Anti-Federalists. 
Republican. See Republican. 

Democrat. See Democrat. 

Anti-Masonic. See Anti-Masonic. 

Whig. See Whig. 

Anti-Slavery, or Liberty, 252. 

Native American, 254, 270, 288. 

Free-Soil, 261. 

Know-nothing, 271, 289. 

Liberal Republican, 345. 

Partisan corps, 159, 160, 161, 179. 
patent, an official document issued by a 
sovereign power, conferring a right or 
privilege on some person or party, 69. 
Patroon system, 79. 

Payne-Aldrich Tariff Bill, 395, 402, 482. 
Peace Conference, Versailles, 437-441, 484. 
Peace, International, 383, 392, 481, 482. 
Peacock, ship, 221, 285. 

Peary, Robert E., 396, 482. 

Pelican, ship, 221. 

Pemberton, General, 312, 313, 328, 333. 


Penn, William, 84, 85, 86, 87, 124. 
Pennsylvania, 54, 84, 110, 112, 181. 
grant, 85. 
name, 85. 

first settlement, 85. 
religion, 88. 
early history, 85-88. 

Indians, 86. 
government, 87. 
education, 88. 

Pennsylvania Packet, 119. 

Pennsylvania University, 464. 
pensions, 365, 480. 

Pequot Indians, 100, 124. 

Perez, Juan, 28, 30, 59. 

Perry, Captain Oliver, 221, 285. 

Perry, Commodore Matthew C., 275, 289. 
Perry’s treaty with Japan, 275, 289. 
Pershing, John J., 424, 429, 430. 

Perryville, battle, 303, 329, 332. 

Petersburg, 321, 323, 334. 

Philadelphia, 84, 85, 115, 124, 153, 182, 183, 
452. 

Philip, King, 95. 

Philippines, 34, 40. 
war in, 382. 

United States in possession of, 380, 481. 
Church in, 382. 

Phillips, Wendell, 246. 

Pickens, Andrew, 159. 

Pierce, Franklin, 289. 
president, 273-276, 289. 
sketch of life, 273. 

Pike, Lieutenant Zebulon, 211. 

Pilgrims, 89, 90, 91, 93. 

Pillow, Fort, 303, 332. 

Pinckney, Charles C., 202. 

Pinta, ship, 28, 29. 

Pinzon Brothers, 28. 

Pitcairn, Major, 137, 139. 

Pitt, William, 107, 108, 128, 133. 

Pittsburgh, 108, 181, 453. 

Pittsburgh Landing, 302. 

Pius VI, Pope, 185. 

Pius IX, Pope, 349, 479. 

Piux X, Pope, 394, 411, 412, 465, 482, 483. 
Pius XI, Pope, 447, 448, 484. 

Pizarro, Francisco, 34. 

Plains of Abraham, 109. 

Plymouth, 90, 92, 94. 

Plymouth Company, 44, 93. 

Pocahontas, 63. 

Poe, Edgar Allan, 286, 470. 
poles, discovery of, 396, 482. 

Polk, General, 301. 

Polk, James K., 254, 288. 
president, 258-265, 288. 
sketch of life, 258. 

Pontiac, Chief, 110. 


538 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Pontiac’s war, 110. 

Pope, General, 308, 332. 
population, 112, 181, 450. 

Porter, Admiral, 313, 323, 334. 

Porter, David, 219. 

Port Hudson, 306, 313, 333. 

Porto Rico, 29, 33, 59, 380, 381, 481. 
Portugal, 30, 60. 
postal service, 458. 

savings system, 396, 482. 

Potter, E. C., 468. 

Powers, Hiram, 468. 

Powhatan, Chief, 63. 

Prescott, William Henry, 472. 

President, ship, 217, 221, 284. 

Presidential Succession Law, 360, 480. 
Presque Isle, 106. 

Prevost, 155, 224. 

prime minister, the chief or responsible head 
of the cabinet in Great Britain, usually 
the first Lord of the Treasury, 163. 
Princeton, battle of, 145, 177. 

Princeton University, 84, 464. 
printing press, 25, 37, 59, 97. 
privateers, vessels owned by individuals to 
whom are issued by their government 
“letters of marque and reprisal” which 
give them the right to fit out vessels for 
the purpose of making war on the ship¬ 
ping of an enemy, 197. 
prize, that which is seized by fighting, es¬ 
pecially a ship. The prizes taken at sea 
are regulated by law. The money, 
realized by the sale of the booty is taken 
by the captors in certain proportions 
according to rank, 222. 

Proctor, A. C., 468. 
proprietary colonies, 116. 
provisional, temporary, 281. 

Pulaski, 146, 173. 

Puritans, 51, 66, 71, 72, 73, 89, 92, 93, 94, 
95, 97, 98, 100. 

Putnam, Israel, 139, 142. 

Quakers, 73, 84, 85, 86. 

Quartering Act, 133. 

Quebec, 46, 47, 48, 53, 54, 107, 109, 123, 125. 
Quebec Act, 133, 172. 

Queen Anne’s War, 104, 125. 

Rabida, 28. 

railroads, first passenger, 237, 286. 

Union Pacific, 295, 478. 
first trans-continental, 345. 

Raleigh, 320, 323, 334. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 42, 43, 61, 65. 

Randolph, Edmund, 191. 

Randolph, John, 226. 

Ranger, ship, 157. 


Rasle, Father, 51, 125, 186. 

ration, a fixed allowance, 324. 

Read, Thomas Buchanan, 322. 

reciprocity, an agreement between two coun¬ 
tries by which special advantages are 
granted by one side in consideration of 
special advantages granted by the other, 
365. 

reconstruction, 335-352. 
acts, 336, 337, 338, 478. 

recruit, a newly enrolled soldier or sailor, 142. 

Red Cross Society, a national organization 
so named from its badge, a red cross on 
a white ground. Its purpose is the relief 
of suffering caused by war, pestilence, 
famine, flood, and fires, 376, 422. 

Rehabilitation School, 435, 484. 

remonetize, to restore to use as legal tender, 
354. 

Renaissance, a new birth, or revival, 467. 

Republican, 195, 197, 217. 
elect presidents, 291, 335, 343, 351, 356, 
365, 375, 386, 395, 441. 

Republican, Democratic-, 226, 236. 
elect president, 207, 216, 228. 

Resaca, 318, 333. 

Resolutions, Virginia and Kentucky, 204, 
281. 

Revere, Paul, 136. 

revolution, renunciation of allegiance and 
subjection resulting in an entire change 
of government, 132. 

Revolution, the American— 

conditions, acts, and events leading to, 
126-135. 

battles of, and events in first period, 136- 
150. 

in second period, 152-164. 
treaty of peace, 164. 
finances, 146. 

government during, 137, 140-142, 150, 
165. 

Rhode Island, 94, 95, 124. 
first settlement, 94, 124. 
early history, 101, 102. 
government, 101. 
religion, 101, 102. 
character of settlers, 102. 
charter, 101, 124. 
and the Constitution, 171. 

Richardson, Henry H., 467. 

Richmond, 297, 298, 300, 306, 307, 317, 320, 
323, 334. 

Roanoke Island, 42. 

Robertson, James, 154. 

Rochambeau, Count, 162, 173. 

Ilolfe, John, 63. 

Romanesque, the prevailing architectural 
style developed from Roman principles, 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


characterized mainly by the round arch, 
barrel vault, and general massiveness, 
467. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, 380, 383, 415. 
president, 386-394. 
sketch of life, 386. 
reelected, 390. 

Rosecrans, General, 303, 314, 329, 333. 

Ross, General, 223. 

Rough Riders, 380. 

Roundheads, 67. 

Royal colonies, 116. 

Russian-America, 342. 

Russian Government, 341, 406. 

Ryan, Rev. Abram J., 471. 

Ryswick, treaty of, 104. 

Sadlier, Mary A., 472. 

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 468. 

Salem, 92, 93, 95, 123. 

Salt Lake City, 251. 

Salvation Army, 423. 

Samoan Islands, 383, 450, 481. 

Samoset, 91. 

Sampson, Rear Admiral, 378, 379. 

San Diego, 264. 

San Francisco, 35, 186, 262, 263, 264, 346, 
391, 482. 

San Jacinto, 246, 287. 

San Jose, 264. 

San Juan, 33, 60, 380. 

San Salvador, 29. 

Santa Anna, General, 246, 261, 287. 

Santa Barbara, 264. 

Santa Clara, 264. 

Santa Fe, 37, 61. 

Santa Fe Trail, 345. 

Santa Maria, ship, 28, 29, 54. 

Santiago, 379, 481. 

Saratoga, Burgoyne’s surrender at, 150, 178. 
Saratoga, ship, 224. 

Sargent, John, 467. 

Sarto, Guiseppe, 394. 

Sault Ste. Marie, 105. 

Savannah, city, 76, 155, 179, 319, 334. 
Savannah, ship, 211, 286. 

Saybrook, 99. 

Sayle, William, 74. 

Scalawags, 343. 

Scarborough, ship, 157, 179. 

Schley, Rear Admiral, 378, 379, 481. 

Schuyler, General, 148, 149, 178. 

Scott, Winfield, 222, 242, 261, 288, 296, 298, 
331. 

Scrooby, 89. 

sculpture and sculptors, 467-468. 
secession, the withdrawal of a state from the 
national union, 281, 282, 290, 294, 326 
readmission of states, 339. 


539 

sedition, commotion; conduct directed against 
public order and the tranquillity of the 
state, 203: 

See, Episcopal, of Baltimore, 185. 

Seminole wars, 228, 285. 

Semmes, Captain, 322. 

Separatists, 89, 91. 

Sepulcher, Holy, 23. 

Serapis, 157, 179. 

Serbia, 409. 

Serra, Father, 186, 263. 

Service Clubs, 436. 

Seven Days’ Battles, 307, 332. 

Seven Pines, 307. 

Sevier, John, 154. 

Seward, Secretary, 309, 340, 341. 

Shafter, General, 379, 481. 

Shannon, ship, 221, 285. 

Shays, Daniel, 167, 180. 

Shays’s Rebellion, 167, 180. 

Shea, John Gilmary, 473. 

Shenandoah Valley, 306, 307, 320, 321, 322, 
332, 333. 

Sheridan, Philip, 321, 322, 323, 328, 329, 340, 
364. 

Sherman Anti-trust Act, 459. 

Sherman, Roger, 141. 

Sherman Silver Coinage Act, 365, 371, 480. 
Sherman, William T., 315, 318, 323, 324, 326, 
328, 329, 333. 

and armies of the West, 317. 
march, 319-320, 334. 

Shields, 329. 

Shiloh, 302, 332. 

Sholes, Charles L., 457. 

Sigel, Franz, 320. 

Singer, 454. 

Sioux Indians, 348, 479. 

Sitting Bull, 348. 

skirmish, a combat between small bodies of 
troops, 137. 

Slater, Samuel, 198. 

slavery, 112, 198, 231, 256, 263, 270, 294. 
introduced, 65, 123. 
in Maryland, 72. 
in South Carolina, 75. 
in Georgia, 77. 
in the South, 112. 

in the northern and middle colonies, 112. 
Ordinance of 1787, 168, 231. 
anti-slavery spirit, 187, 245, 246, 287. 
Fugitive Slave Law, 201, 266, 269, 283. 
Underground Railroad, 269, 289. 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 273, 289. 

Wilmot Proviso, 261. 
abolishment, 266, 309, 326, 336. 
Compromise of 1850, 267, 269, 273. 
Missouri Compromise, 231, 267, 269, 273, 
286. 


540 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


slavery —continued 

Dred Scott Decision, 277, 278, 281. 
Lincoln-Douglas debates, 279, 289. 

John Brown’s raid, 279, 290. 

Smith, John, 63, 119. 

Smith, Joseph, 251, 286, 288. 

smuggling, 127. 

social rank, 459. 

Sons of Liberty, 130. 

South Carolina, 74-75, 124, 281. 

South Dakota, 368, 480. 

South Sea, 33, 34, 93. 

Southern States, 478. 
secession of, 281. 
in Civil War, 291-329. 
reconstruction, 335-352. 
readmitted, 339. 

Southern Whites (Democrats), 345. 

Spain, 30, 110, 164, 340, 406. 
first voyage, 33. 
discoveries, 33-39. 
first settlements, 33. 
and the Indians, 34, 37, 38. 
claims and occupancy, 103. 
and the New World, 37. 
missionaries of, 38. 
martyrs of, 38. 

Spalding, Rt. Rev. James L., 473. 

Spanish-American War, 376 382. 
causes, 377. 
declaration, 378, 481. 
naval operations, 378-379. 
land campaigns, 379-380. 
treaty of peace, 380, 481. 
results, 380-381. 

Spaulding, Most Rev. Martin John, 342, 472. 

specie, coins of gold, silver, copper or other 
metal, issued under the government 
stamp and used as a circulating medium 
of commerce, 167. 

specie circular, 244. 

specie payment, resumption of, 346, 354, 479. 

Speedwell, ship, 89. 

Sperry, Rear-Admiral, 393. 

Spoils System, 241, 286, 356, 357. 

Spooner Act, 387. 

Spottsylvania, battle, 320, 333. 

Squanto, 91. 

Squatter sovereignty, 273, 274, 279. 

Stamp Act, 129, 176. 

Stamp Act Congress, 130, 176. 

standard time, 458. 

Standish, Miles, 91. 

Stanton, Edwin M., 339, 340. 

Stanwix, Fort, 149. 

Star of the West, ship, 282. 

Star Spangled Banner, 224. 

Stark, General, 149. 

Stark, Molly, 149. 


states’ rights, 241-242, 294. 
statue of liberty, 363, 480. 

St. Augustine, 36, 37, 61, 466. 

St. Augustine Cathedral, 466. 

Stay Laws, 167. 

St. Clair, General, 196. 

Steamboats, invention, 211, 229, 284. 
Stedman, Edmund Clarence, 473. 

Steuben, Baron, 146, 155, 173, 178. 

Stevens, Thaddeus, 337. 

Stillwater, battle of, 149. 

St. John’s Church, 134. 

St. John’s College, 72. 

St. Lawrence, 46, 47, 48, 51, 54, 60, 104, 109. 
St. Leger, 148, 149. 

St. Louis, 154, 390, 482. 

St. Mary’s, Md., 54, 70, 71. 

St. Mary’s, Mich., 53. 

St. Mihiel, battle, 424, 429. 

Stone, 329. 

Stony Point, capture of, 155, 179. 

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 270, 471. 
strategem, a trick in war for deceiving the 
enemy; secret plot, 149. 
strategic, pertaining to warlike operations, 
300. 

St. Philip, Fort, 306. 

St. Pierre, Commander, 106. 
strikes, 250, 362, 373, 387, 482. 

Stuart, General, 307. 

Stuart, Gilbert, 120, 187. 

Stuyvesant, Peter, 80, 85. 

Submarine warfare, 413-414, 415. 
suffrage, negro, 339. 

woman, 441, 459. 

Sullivan, General, 139, 154. 

Sullivan’s island, 140. 

Sulpicians, 199. 

Sumter, 159, 162. 

Sumter, Fort, 282, 294, 295, 331. 

Supreme Court, established, 191. 

Sweden, New, 84. 

Tabb, Father John B., 473. 

Taft, Lorado, 468. 

Taft, William H., 382, 482. 
president, 395-399, 482. 
sketch of life, 395. 
tariff, 189, 235, 294. 

Hamilton’s plan, 192. 
of 1816, 226. 
of 1824, 233. 
of 1828, 238. 

Mills, 364. 

McKinley, 365, 395, 480. 

Wilson, 371, 480. 

Dingley, 375, 395, 481. 

Payne, Aldrich, 395, 482. 
board, 396. 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


541 


tariff —continued 

Underwood, 402, 483. 

Tarleton, 161. 

taxation, a charge laid upon persons or prop¬ 
erty for the support of the government, 
128. 

Taylor, Zachary, 260, 288, 289. 
president, 266-268. 
sketch of life, 266. 
death, 268, 289. 
tea tax, 132. 

Tecumseh, Chief, 217, 223, 284. 

Te Deum, 28, 174. 

Tekawitha, Catherine, 53. 
telegraphy, 254, 288, 341, 455, 478, 482. 
Tender Laws, 167. 

Tennessee, 154, 201, 283, 295, 331, 338. 
Tennessee, ship, 323. 

Tenure of Office Act, 339, 362, 478, 480. 
Terry, General, 323. 

Texas, 246, 255, 256, 257, 267, 281, 287, 288. 
Thames, battle of the, 222, 285. 
Thanksgiving Day, 91, 123. 

Thayer, Abbott, 467. 

Thomas, Dr., 348. 

Thomas, General, 315, 319, 320, 333, 334. 
Thompson, Benjamin, 186. 

Thorw'aldsen, 468. 

Ticonderoga-, Fort, 107, 108, 138, 148, 176, 
177. 

Tilden, Samuel J., 351. 

Tippecanoe, battle, 217, 284. 

Titanic disaster, 398, 483. 
tobacco, 29, 65. 

Toleration Act, 71, 72. 

toleration, religious, 71, 87, 94, 101, 102. 

Tolls Repeal Bill, 403, 483. 

Tories, 128, 134. 

Toscanelli, 24. 
town meetings, 93. 

Townshend Acts, 130, 176. 

Transportation Bill, 133. 
treaty, 166. 

between Spain and Portugal, 30. 
of Paris, 110, 125, 164, 180, 185. 

Penn’s with the Indians, 86. 

Ryswick, 104. 

Utrecht, 104. 

after the Revolution, 164, 180, 1S5 . 

Jay’s with England, 197, 283. 

Jay’s with France, 202. 
with Spain and Algiers, 198. 
w’ith France, 203. 
after War of 1812, 225, 285. 
with Japan, 275, 289. 

Hay-Pauncefote, 389. 

Webster-Ashburton, 254, 288. 

Versailles, 438, 439, 440. 
treaty elm, 86. 


Trent affair, 299, 309, 331. 

Trent, ship, 300. 

Trenton, battle of, 145, 177. 

Trinidad, 29, 59. 

Triple Entente, 408. 

Tripoli, 212, 226, 284. 

Troy, Female Seminary, 464. 
trusts, 352, 458. 

Tunis, 226. 

turret, a revolving cylindrical tower con¬ 
structed of thick iron plates, behind 
which cannon are mounted, 305. 
Tuscaroras, 73. 

Tuskegee, 460. 

Tutuila, 383, 450, 481. 

Tyler, John, 253, 287. 
president, 253-257. 
sketch of life, 253. 

Uncle Tom's Cabin, 270, 289. 

Underground Railroad, 269, 289. 

Underhill, John, 100. 

Underwood Tariff Bill, 402, 483. 

Ursulines, 38, 54, 109. 

Utah, 261, 266, 373, 481. 

Utrecht, treaty, 104, 107. 

Valley Forge, 148, 152, 178. 

Van Buren, Martin, 243, 287. 
president, 249-252, 287. 
sketch of life, 249. 

Van Cortlandt Manor, 466. 

Van Twiller, Wouter, 80. 

Vedder, 467. 

Venango, 106. 

Venezuela, 372, 481. 

Vera Cruz, 34, 261. 405. 

Vermont, 181, 200, 283. 

Verrazano, 46, 60. 

Vespucius, Americus, 31, 60. 
veto, the power to prevent or prohibit the 
carrying out of laws or plans attempted 
by another department of the govern¬ 
ment, 253, 338, 341. 

Vexilla Regis, a famous hymn of the Catholic 
Church sung in the church on Good 
Friday when the Blessed Sacrament is 
carried in procession from the Repository 
to the High Altar, 29. 
viceroy, an officer acting for the king, 35. 
Vicksburg, 312, 313, 333. 

Victory Loan, 422. 

Ville Maria, 54. 

Vincennes, 50, 154. 

Virginia, 62, 110, 112, 168, 181. 
attempt at colonization, 42, 60. 
named, 42, 59. 
first settlement, 42, 43, 44. 

Company, 44, 62. 


542 


INDEX AND GLOSSARY 


Virginia —continued 
early history, 62-68. 
character of colonists, 66, 69. 
purpose in settling, 62. 
government, 65, 66, 67. 
religion, education, manners and customs, 
68 . 

during Civil War, 295, 331. 

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 204. 
Virginia University, 464. 

Visitors’ Houses, 436. 

Von Bernstorff, Count, 415. 

Von Ludendorff, General, 428, 431. 

Vulture, ship, 161. 

Wake Island, 383. 

Waldseemiiller, Martin, 31. 

Walker, 467. 

Wall Street, New York, the money capital of 
our country. There exists the stock ex¬ 
change where all kinds of stock—shares 
in different business concerns—are 
bought and sold, 368. 

Wallace, Lew, 321, 471. 

Walsh, Frank P., 420. 

Wampanoags, 91, 95. 
war— 

French and Indian, 104, 106, 109, 112, 125, 
126. 

King Philip’s, 95, 124. 

Pequot, 100, 124. 

King William’s, 104, 124. 

Queen Anne’s, 104, 125. 

King George’s, 104, 125. 

Pontiac’s, 110. 

American Revolution, 134-164. 
with Barbary States, 212, 226. 
of 1812, 217-226, 284. 
with Mexico, 259, 261, 288. 

Civil, 291-329. 

Spanish-American, 376-382. 

World War, 405-441. 

United States enters, 416. 

Warren, Joseph, 136, 139, 176. 

Washington, state, 368, 480. 

Washington, Booker T., 460. 

Washington Conference, 443, 484. 
Washington, Fort, 142, 144, 177. 

Washington, George, 52, 106, 108, 137, 166, 
171, 174, 325. 

first appearance in history, 106, 108. 
in American Revolution, 137, 139, 143-148, 
152-154, 160-164. 
leader of Federalists, 171. 
first president, 172, 180. 
reply to Catholics, 174. 
president, 189-201. 
reelection, 195. 
death of, 204, 283. 


Washington, Martha, 184. 

Washington University, 464. 

Wasp, ship, 220, 284. 

Wayne, Anthony, 156, 196, 283. 
Webster-Ashburton Treaty, 254, 288. 
Webster, Daniel, 192, 226, 238, 241, 254, 267, 
270, 289. 

Webster-Hayne debates, 241, 287. 

Webster, Noah, 185. 

Weed, Thurlow, 300. 

Welcome, ship, 85. 

Wells, Horace, 465. 

West, Benjamin, 120, 186. 

West India Company, 57, 79. 

West, Joseph, 74. 

West Point, 160, 343. 

West Virginia, 322, 332. 

Whigs, 128, 134. 

elect president, 253, 266. 

Whiskey Insurrection, 193, 283. 

Whistler, James McNeill, 467. 

White, Chief Justice, 398, 463, 476, 482, 484. 
White, Father Andrew, 69, 119. 

White, John, 43. 

Whitney, Eli, 198, 283. 

Whittier, John G., 469. 

Wilkes, Captain, 300. 

William III of England, 81. 

William and Mary, College of, 68, 464. 
Williams, Roger, 94, 100. 

Wilmot Proviso, 261. 

Wilson Tariff Act, 371, 480. 

Wilson, Thomas Woodrow— 
president, 401-441, 483. 
reelected, 415, 483. 
sketch of life, 401. 

Winslow, Captain, 322. 

Winthrop, John, 93. 

Winthrop, John Jr., 93, 99. 

Wisconsin, 263, 288. 

Wisconsin University, 464. 
witchcraft, 95, 125. 

Wolfe, General, 107, 109, 125. 

Wood, Leonard, 380. 

Worden, John, 304. 

Writs of Assistance, 127. 

Wyant, A. H., 467. 

Wyoming, 261, 368, 480. 

Xavier, St. Francis, 48. 

X Y Z affair, 202, 203. 

Yale, 101, 464. 

Yorktown, 162, 163, 180. 

Young Men’s Christian Association, 423. 
Young Women’s Christian Association, 423. 

Zollicoffer, 301. 

Zuni, 35, 60. 










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